Young Bess Hardwick knew that the only way to escape a commoner's life was to serve in a noble family and marry well. So the headstrong beauty set out for London and the Tudor court, the arena for the richest, most ambitious men, none more powerful than the four men who would claim her. None more dangerous than Princess Elizabeth, who made Bess friend, confidante, then lady-in-waiting in her own glittering court . . .
Dangerously seductive, William Cavendish, the king's dashing financial adviser, vowed to have Bess at any cost. Frail, adoring Robert Barlow offered a marriage she couldn't refuse. Newly crowned Queen Elizabeth bade her marry courtly Sir William St Loe. But reckless passion drove Bess into the arms of George Talbot, the devastating Earl of Shrewsbury, whose wicked daring ignited in Bess the passion of a lifetime - even as it sparked the jealous interest of the most perilous ally of all: the Virgin Queen . . .
