In the days and weeks after the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, chaos erupts in the royal court of Queen Elizabeth, in the household of William Shakespeare—and across all of London and England.

Elizabeth has never been weaker or more vulnerable—politically, mentally and emotionally. Her government becomes rudderless—and powerful people around her become ruthless.

In this power void, we meet many of the most consequential figures of the age--including Robert Catesby, Doctor Roger Lopez, Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby, Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, and the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. Even worse, many of her most powerful lords are mysteriously dying. Are their deaths natural? Or murder?

Worst of all, Elizabeth receives intelligence of a Spanish invasion fleet being built.

She sends Sir Francis Drake—and his raid of Cádiz is one of the most daring military raids in the history of the world.

She must also decide whether to investigate the mysterious deaths of her lords. Meanwhile, something is awakening in Shakespeare. Angry and confused by the execution of Mary, whose death might spark a war, he fears that he or his siblings might have be forced to serve in the army or the navy.

He has a momentous decision to make. He must leave his home in Stratford-Upon-Avon. But where should he go?

In the days right before he begins a fateful journey, we learn about his past, his family's history—and how his talent as a writer was first born.

Who he became had everything to do with who he was, before he left Stratford.

This is the true history of Shakespeare—that has never been told.