For secrets this deadly, blood will dye the throne of a nation... A superb Tudor novel from the author of THE CHALICE.

London, May 1537. As those closest to the throne are locked in a fierce fight against those desperate to save England''s monasteries from destruction, young Joanna Stafford faces a far more personal battle. When Joanna learns her cousin is about to be burned at the stake for rebelling against Henry VIII, she makes a decision that will change not only her life, but quite possibly the fate of a nation.

It will mean turning her back on everything she knows, for Joanna is a novice at Dartford Priory - and to save her family, she must break the sacred rule of enclosure. But running away is only the first transgression. From the Tower of London, to secret assignations and from Stonehenge to the royal court - Joanna becomes entangled with a secret whose deadly past stretches farther back than anyone had imagined.

As her mission draws a trail in blood from the last whispered words of a queen to a pattern of unnatural deaths in the royal lineage, Joanna must determine who to trust, and how far she''s willing to go to protect her life, her family and everything she holds dear.

Winner of the Best Historical Mystery novel at the RT Book Reviews Awards. A curse to kill a king, a fight to save a nation. Follow young Joanna Stafford right into the dark heart of King Henry VIII''s court in this stunning Tudor thriller.England, 1538. The nation is reeling after the ruthless dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII. Cast out of Dartford Priory, Joanna Stafford - feisty, courageous, but scarred by her recent encounter with rebellion at court - is trying to live a quiet life with her five-year-old charge, Arthur. But family connections draw her dangerously close to a treasonous plot and, repelled by violence and the whispered conspiracies around her, Joanna seeks a life with a man who loves her. But, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape the spreading darkness of her destiny. She must make a choice between those she cares for most, and taking her part in a mysterious prophecy foretold by three compelling seers. Joanna embarks upon a testing journey, and, as she deciphers the meaning at the core of the prophecy, she learns that the fate of a king and the freedom of a nation rest in her hands.

For secrets this deadly, blood will dye the throne of a nation... A superb Tudor novel from the author of THE CHALICE.

London, May 1537. As those closest to the throne are locked in a fierce fight against those desperate to save England''s monasteries from destruction, young Joanna Stafford faces a far more personal battle. When Joanna learns her cousin is about to be burned at the stake for rebelling against Henry VIII, she makes a decision that will change not only her life, but quite possibly the fate of a nation.

It will mean turning her back on everything she knows, for Joanna is a novice at Dartford Priory - and to save her family, she must break the sacred rule of enclosure. But running away is only the first transgression. From the Tower of London, to secret assignations and from Stonehenge to the royal court - Joanna becomes entangled with a secret whose deadly past stretches farther back than anyone had imagined.

As her mission draws a trail in blood from the last whispered words of a queen to a pattern of unnatural deaths in the royal lineage, Joanna must determine who to trust, and how far she''s willing to go to protect her life, her family and everything she holds dear.

Winner of the Best Historical Mystery novel at the RT Book Reviews Awards. A curse to kill a king, a fight to save a nation. Follow young Joanna Stafford right into the dark heart of King Henry VIII''s court in this stunning Tudor thriller.England, 1538. The nation is reeling after the ruthless dissolution of the monasteries by King Henry VIII. Cast out of Dartford Priory, Joanna Stafford - feisty, courageous, but scarred by her recent encounter with rebellion at court - is trying to live a quiet life with her five-year-old charge, Arthur. But family connections draw her dangerously close to a treasonous plot and, repelled by violence and the whispered conspiracies around her, Joanna seeks a life with a man who loves her. But, no matter how hard she tries, she cannot escape the spreading darkness of her destiny. She must make a choice between those she cares for most, and taking her part in a mysterious prophecy foretold by three compelling seers. Joanna embarks upon a testing journey, and, as she deciphers the meaning at the core of the prophecy, she learns that the fate of a king and the freedom of a nation rest in her hands.