The story of Abelard and Héloïse is set in Medieval France almost 1000 years ago, however its themes are as relevant today as they were then.  Their lives tell a compelling story of unbridled romance fraught with pain and suffering at the hands of others who could not accept or understand their perplexing mix of sensualism and intellectualism. But more than that, their story portrays the ultimate triumph of love, friendship, and being true to oneself over the formidable forces of death, betrayal, and life's controlling influences.  Ironically, the main character, Alberic, from whose point of view the story revolves, lives in the throws of an epoch of great enlightenment and events, but seems to miss the meaning of it all the fate of so many of us today who vicariously live other people's lives, but forget to live our own.