Philip II of Spain was overburdened by many problems and one of the most exasperating was the lack of a healthy legitimate male heir. But healthy boys were born to his mistresses. One them was the very alluring and seductive beauty with the bewitching black patch over her right eye, the very influential Ana de Mendoza, The Princess of Eboli, claimed by many to be the power behind the throne. In a court seething with rumours of plots and conspiracy Ana was always alert, watching and listening; was she reporting to her husband Ruy Gomez, one of Philip's ministers, or to her lover Antonio Perez, Philip's secretary - or to the French?"