Queen Elizabeth is dying, and England is in turmoil There are witch hunts going on No one is safe, not even Will's grandmother The penalty is death by drowning So Will is sent to London to clear the Marsden family name He gets to meet the Queen — but he hasn't bargained for Doctor Dee, the great magician she admires so, nor for the plots and conspiracies that surround her It's a race against time for Will and his friend Meg, and they have dangerous enemies But Will discovers some strange parallels with his grandmother's experiences as a girl at the court of Queen Mary, Elizabeth's bitter rival