Set in 1546, Herring's captivating debut depicts the future Elizabeth I as a keen and shrewd detective. A killer is stalking London, beheading young women and dressing their bodies in nuns' clothes. When one of the princess's own ladies becomes a victim, the 12-year-old Elizabeth, daughter of the now failing Henry VIII, joins with her friends Simon Maldon, a physician's son, and Hugh Bellows, the captain of the king's Welsh Guard, in the hunt for...

Elizabeth Tudor is accused of treason and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Her old friend Simon Maldon visits her in prison and while there Simon meets Peto the Pope, who is accused of murder. While Simon attempts to prove Peto's innocence, Simon's wife Hannah takes in a frightened pregnant girl. Neither realizes until too late that in trying to help others they have placed themselves in deadly danger.