When the minions of King Henry VIII set fire to the monastery where Alice has lived happily for the past few years, the girl manages to escape from the marauders and murderers. Not knowing where to hide as a former nun during religious persecution, she is forced to return to her adoptive mother Mora, a local healer. Maura teaches her her craft, and Alice soon becomes her assistant. However, she learns from her adoptive mother not only the knowledge of herbs and potions, but also the ability to use the dark powers of witchcraft. After she manages to cure Lord Hugh, the owner of the entire area, he leaves her in his castle. Unexpectedly, Alice falls in love with his son, young Lord Hugo. Forgetting her good intentions to lead a holy life, she decides to resort to any means to radically change her destiny. Philippa Gregory is one of the most popular modern English writers. Her brilliant historical novels about English kings and queens have been translated into many languages, and the novel “The Other Boleyn Girl” became a world bestseller and was filmed (starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman). For the first time in Russian!