1588. The Spanish Armada has been defeated, but Elizabeth Tudor is griefstricken.
The Earl of Leicester has died and Elizabeth feels entirely alone. But at her court there is a young man who will chase her nightmares away and, she hopes, will be her adoring slave. Enter Robert Devereux, the Earl of Essex.
But Elizabeth is no longer young and doesn't command the affection she once did. Robert has no intention of becoming Elizabeth's slave. He has very real ambitions of his own, ambitions that will threaten the queen herself.
Surrounded by a generation of courtiers who are tired of worshipping an irritable old hag, Elizabeth knows they are looking forward to the day when a man sits on the throne of England.
For Robert, that day cannot come soon enough. If he cannot sit on the throne himself, then he is determined to be the power behind it, even if it means taking Elizabeth's crown by force.
But Elizabeth is ready to fight for her throne.
In the dangerous world of the Tudor court, there aren't any prizes for coming second. Robert must succeed or die.