Joan lies that her father has insisted on having her brother John accompany her. The two begin the ten-day trip to Dorstadt. Joan is curious and fascinated by the sights, and John is hungry, tired and irritable. At the palace the children are luxuriously bathed and dressed to attend an extravagant dinner with the bishop. Joan is surprised at the mixture of pagan languages with proper Latin, and the casual atmosphere of approval of the careless bishop's paramour.
Tested on her knowledge of orthodox theology at the dinner table, Joan boldly proceeds to challenge the school master, Odo, as to why women are considered inferior. Using her well-honed logic, Joan outwits him.
A red-haired knight, Count Gerold, offers Joan a home with his family in Villaris, and John is left with the other.....
