Buried beneath the crumbling gray walls of England's majestic castles lie some of the most colourful stories in history — tales of triumph and disaster, courage and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal, ingenuity — and stupidity. Enemies at the Gates takes an entertaining look at English castles under siege, from the tunnels and trebuchets of the early Middle Ages to the Civil War when many fortifications, left undisturbed for centuries, were suddenly propelled into the forefront of national events. Telling the stories of both attackers and besieged, Julian Humphrys takes us on a journey through the human stories of triumph and catastrophe that accompanied each campaign.