"As Penelope signs the letter the scratch of quill on paper seems deafening. For this letter could seal her fate. As a traitor. As a target. As a marked woman. The Devereux family was powerful once. Penelope's mother was the gem of Elizabeth's court, until she married the wrong man and became an outcast. And although Penelope is now in favour as the Queen's cherished goddaughter, life in the presence of royalty is never stable u especially when she is the one person who could bring about her majesty's downfall. But Penelope understands that this is a game to be played and won by the cunning. A game where a single wrong move could mean not only losing face, wealth, land or your position. It could also mean losing your head. And Penelope Devereux may be a lot of things u a trusted maid, a scheming adulteress, an enemy of the state u but she's not a woman who is prepared to lose. At any cost."