On the throne is Queen Elizabeth, the daughter of King Henry VIII. Her reign is complicated by conspiracies woven by the pretender to the English throne, Mary Stuart, and the King of Spain has vowed to conquer England and restore the rule of the Roman Church in it. Catherine, the heroine of the novel, lives with a broken heart with relatives in the castle. Jake Penlyon seeks her hand in marriage, but on the day of her engagement, Catherine is kidnapped by the Spaniards. Only eight years later, Jake Penlyon managed to rescue his bride from captivity. But even in her native England, calm does not await her; mysterious attempts on her life have begun...