In 1420, Eleanor Cobham arrives at the court of Henry V, pretty and lowborn, hoping for nothing grander than a good marriage.
England is enjoying a golden age, with its royal dynasty spread across Europe, but betrayal and sudden changes of power disturb the court she has entered.
In the household of a countess who commands her own army, Eleanor learns what a woman can achieve and how little men's promises may be worth.
When the safe future she expected begins to fail, she must rely on her wits to survive and to climb.
Her ambition reaches farther than any woman before her has dared, yet ruling England itself may demand the darker arts.
