This internationally acclaimed bestseller about the Tudor era unfolds during the time when Henry VIII is vying for Anne Boleyn, with devastating consequences. "This opportunity for us Howards comes once in a century..." The year is 1521. Henry VIII presides over a fashionable court filled with festivities and celebrations, his only threat being the lack of a male heir. When young Mary Boleyn arrives at court, she becomes his new mistress and an unintended pawn in the ambitions of the powerful Boleyn and Howard families. Over time, however, Henry loses interest, and the Boleyns stop at nothing to woo Mary's sister Anne. But Anne Boleyn, recently returned from the French court, will settle for nothing less than kingship as his wife. She pits Henry's last hope for a successor against the advice of his powerful advisors, Wolsey and Cromwell. The events that follow will forever change the history of the country.