The savage rivalry of the daughters of Henry VIII, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth, mirrors that of their mothers, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn Each will fight by any available means for the crown and future of the kingdom Elizabeth's bitter struggle to claim the throne she believes is hers by right, and the man she desires almost more than her crown, is watched by her 'fool' a girl who has been forced to leave her homeland of Spain, as a Jew fleeing the Inquisition In a court where truth is wittily denied and lies are mere games, it is the fool who can speak plainly in these dangerous times, a woman must choose between ambition and love Elizabeth will not make the same mistakes as her mother