It is 1539, and the court of Henry VIII is increasingly fearful at the moods of the ageing, sickly king. With only a baby in the cradle for an heir, Henry has to take another wife. The dangerous prize of the crown of England is won by Anne of Cleves, who has her own reasons for agreeing to marry a man old enough to be her father.
Although fascinated by the glamour of her new surroundings, Anne senses a trap closing around her. Katherine Howard is confident that she can follow in the steps of Anne Boleyn and dazzle her way to the throne, but her kinswoman Jane Boleyn knows that Anne's path led to Tower Green - to an adulterer's death.