Queen Margaret seems to have everything as the consort of England's King. Despite her great beauty she lacks the most important thing of all; an heir. Without one she and her husband risk overthrow by Richard of York and her greatest rival, the beautiful Duchess Cecily. Unfortunately her husband is homosexual and will not oblige the Queen in her ambition. So she finds herself a lover, Sir Richard Howard who provides a male heir. Contrary to plan Margaret also falls in love with him. Like the times, however, their relationship was never going to be simple. The year is 1450, the eve of one of the most violent periods of English history. For Margaret's strategy to work, the bastard child has to be accepted as the legitimate heir of her husband. Margaret's enemies are closing in, forcing the Queen to reluctantly banish Sir Richard so that he cannot be identified as the real father. Both are heartbroken, and the subsequent struggle to recover their lost love, reflected against the dramatic backdrop of the times, is the essence of this story. This is the first of eight books in an epic tale spanning fifty years during the late fifteenth century. Whilst set in the context of the Wars of the Roses it is not foremost about them; rather, it explores how the nature of those times have compelled powerful people to survive and love.