The daughters of Henry VII, savage rivals Mary Tudor and Elisabeth I, have sworn to fight to win the crown and the hearts of the people, and to command the future of the kingdom of England.

Into this court seething with intrigue comes a young girl, a holy fool, Hannah, a hidden Jew on the run from the Inquisition, is herself no stranger to evasion and secrecy. Entangled in the schemes of handsome traitor Robert Dudley, Hannah is sent to spy on Princess Mary and discovers a woman of deep principle, driven by a fatal desire to turn her people back to the true faith. Meanwhile, the unscrupulous Elisabeth is waiting for take advantage of any mistake her sister makes.

Caught between the two sisters, between her infatuation for Dudley and her duty to her family, her need to explore her own gifts and her fear of the unknown, Hannah must find her own way through a world of terrifying risks. From the Tower of London to the siege of Calais, she is witness and player in these tumuluous times, when religion is a death sentence, when science and magic are one, and when lover is the greatest danger of all.

‘This is the finest historical novel of this year’

Daily Mail