1588 Elizabethan England. Avery Weller flouts the law that forbids women on the stage. Her nemesis, Lord Nicholas Blackstone, Master of the Revels, is a soulless bureaucrat who wields royal power over London's theatres and has been hunting her for months. His dogged pursuit is close to driving her to the poorhouse when the handsome ambitious lord finally corners her—and makes the actress an astonishing offer that changes everything. Soon Avery is drawn into a web of deadly royal secrets that lead to intrigue, murder and forbidden love. Dangerous secrets make for unholy alliances.