An unadulterated look at "Bloody Mary"--elder daughter of Henry VIII, Catholic zealot, and England's first and most murderous queen--argues that history has treated the much-maligned monarch unfairly.

When her sister seizes the throne, Queen Eleanor of Albion is banished to a tiny island off the coast of her kingdom, where the nuns of the convent spend their days peacefully praying, sewing, and gardening. But the island is also home to Margaret, a mysterious young orphan girl whose life is upturned when the cold, regal stranger arrives. As Margaret grows closer to Eleanor, she grapples with the revelation of the island's sinister true purpose as...