1554: Lady Jane Grey is executed by her cousin Queen Mary. Now Lady Jane's younger sisters Katherine and Mary cursed with the Tudor blood that saw their sister killed face the perils of the royal court alone. Lady Katherine - young and spirited - makes dangerous romantic liaisons. While Lady Mary - crook-backed and vulnerable - becomes the Queen's reluctant companion yet yearns to escape court intrigue. And both girls fear their proximity to the Queen might be their undoing. For the childless Queen is ill. If she should die Katherine may be pushed to power but the Queen's half-sister Elizabeth casts a long shadow and if she gains the throne the court will become a terrifying maze of treachery and suspicion.