Upon the death of Mary I (Bloody Mary), Elizabeth I takes thethrone and Brendan Prescott is called to aid the young queen amid a realmplunged into chaos and a court rife with conspiracy.London, 1558. Queen Mary is dead, and twenty-five-year-oldElizabeth ascends the throne. Summoned to court from exile abroad, Elizabeth'sintimate spy, Brendan Prescott, is reunited with the young queen, as well ashis beloved Kate, scheming William Cecil, and archrival, Robert Dudley. Apoison attempt on Elizabeth soon overshadows her coronation, but before Brendancan investigate, Elizabeth summons him in private to dispatch him on a far moreconfidential mission: to find her favored lady in waiting, Lady Parry, who hasdisappeared during a visit to her family manor in Yorkshire. Upon his arrival at the desolate seaside manor where Lady Parrywas last seen, he encounters a strange, impoverished family beset by grief, aswell as mounting evidence that they hide a secret from him. The mysterysurrounding Lady Parry deepens as Brendan begins to realize there is far moregoing on at the manor than meets the eye, but the closer he gets to the heartof the mystery in Vaughan Hall, the more he learns that, in his zeal to uncoverthe truth, he could be precipitating Elizabeth's destruction. From the intrigue-laden passages of Whitehall to a forebodingCatholic manor and the deadly underworld of London, Brendan must race againsttime to unravel a vendetta that will strike at the very core of his world-avendetta that could expose a buried past and betray everything he has foughtfor, including his loyalty to his queen.
