"My name is Mary Seymour and I am the daughter of one queen and the niece of another."

Browsing antiques shops in Wiltshire, Alison Bannister stumbles across a delicate old portrait – supposedly of Anne Boleyn. Except Alison knows better...The woman is Mary Seymour, the daughter of Katherine Parr who was taken to Wolf Hall in 1557 as an unwanted orphan and presumed dead after going missing as a child.

The painting is more than just a beautiful object for Alison – it holds the key to a past life, the unlocking of the mystery surrounding Mary's disappearance, and the enigma of Alison's son.

But Alison's quest soon takes a dark and foreboding turn, as a meeting place called the Phantom Tree harbours secrets in its shadows...