Frances is happy to stay in her beloved countryside when the new King arrives from Scotland, bringing change, fear and suspicion. His court may be shockingly decadent, but James's religion is Puritan, intolerant of all the old ways; he has already put to death many men for treason and women for witchcraft.
So when her ambitious uncle forcibly brings Frances to court, she is trapped in a claustrophobic world of intrigue and betrayal - and a ready target for the twisted scheming of Lord Cecil, the King's first minister.
Surrounded by mortal dangers, Frances finds happiness only with the precocious young Princess Elizabeth, and Tom Wintour, the one courtier she can trust.
Or can she?
This is historical fiction at its finest, from the acclaimed author of the Sunday Times bestseller The House of Boleyn.
Tracy Borman OBE is Chief Historian at Historic Royal Palaces and Chief Executive of the Heritage Education Trust. She studied and taught history at the University of Hull.Tracy is the author of a number of highly acclaimed books including Anne Boleyn & Elizabeth I, Crown & Sceptre, Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, The Private Lives of the Tudors, Thomas Cromwell, Matilda, Elizabeth's Women and Witches. Tracy is also a regular broadcaster and public speaker, giving talks on her books across the UK and abroad.