In the royal palace, during preparations for the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accession to the throne of Elizabeth I, two of Her Majesty's ladies-in-waiting are killed, one holding a wax doll with red hair - an image of the queen - in her hand. The year is 1583 - the year of the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, heralding a change of eras. Noble Catholics are hatching a plan to overthrow the middle-aged, childless monarch and crown Mary Stuart. The brilliant Giordano Bruno, hiding from the Inquisition in England, is trying to uncover their conspiracy and find the thug who dared to shed blood at the very foot of the English throne.