Kerr Gordon, next in line to be chief of the Gordon Clan, is tasked by Mary, Queen of Scots to bring to bring a gift to her cousin—and jailer—Queen Elizabeth of England. When he arrives at Whitehall Palace to find a courtly woman tied up in the stables, he acts to save her, only to be rebuked for dispatching an assassin before she could hear his confession. Queen Elizabeth calls Maggie Darby her sacrificial lamb: Maggie's job is to try on all of the queen's gowns and accessories before she wears them—just in case they’re poisoned. Trained by her father, Maggie has no intention of dying in the line of duty. She's learned all about poisons and how to test for them. When the handsome Highland warrior who saved her in the stables is accused of treason, Maggie’s instincts tell her that he’s been framed. As they work together to find the true traitors in Queen Elizabeth’s court, the smoldering fire that’s been growing between them erupts into an inferno that threatens to change their worlds forever.