| In the court of King James, lady-in-waiting Frances Gorges was suspected of witchcraft for her healing skills. But when her lover was executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot, she fled for her life and that of her unborn child. Now Frances is compelled to return to the dissolute and dangerous court to marry Sir Thomas Tyringham, King James's master of hounds, who has agreed to assume paternity of her son. Meanwhile, whispers of conspiracy continue to echo through the royal palace. Against this perilous backdrop, Frances reunites with her former mistress, the Princess Elizabeth, as well as other less friendly members of the court: Prince Henry, the unscrupulous heir to the crown; Lord Cecil, eager to persecute Frances as a witch; and King James himself, ever more paranoid and cruel towards alleged traitors. But she also discovers a surprising new ally: Sir Walter Raleigh, himself a prisoner in the tower of London. As he makes his intentions known, Frances again finds herself caught in a web of secrets, promises, and plots. |
