As Anne Boleyn’s blood is sluiced from the scaffold, Thomas Cromwell picks his way through the wreckage of her death to take his place as principal councillor to King Henry VIII.

The birth of a prince gives England the heir that Henry longs for, but at a terrible price. As the court grieves for Jane, it falls to Cromwell to find a fourth bride for the king.

Cromwell is stripped of his titles and brought to the Tower of London on a charge of treason. He has no friends to speak for him but plenty of enemies among his prosecutors.