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.

A rising in the north destabilises Henry's kingdom. Despite the risks to his own life, Cromwell moves to protect Lady Mary from becoming the rebels’ greatest prize.

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’s marital diplomacy brings Princess Anne of Cleves to Henry’s court. Will the alliance create a Protestant superpower in northern Europe, or has Cromwell’s luck run out?

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.