As the dissolution of the monasteries gathers speed, Cromwell makes a personal pilgrimage to Shaftesbury Abbey to speak with a young nun, who profoundly shakes his view of himself.

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.

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.