Catherine of Aragon's arranged marriage to the English crown prince Arthur secretly develops into a loving relationship where they share plans to rule England side-by-side.

In his deathbed, he convinces Catalina to deny consummating their marriage so she can still be considered a virgin and eligible to marry his younger brother Harry to carry out their plans.

Fortunately, Catalina's prospects improve when Henry dies of sickness and Harry marries her despite his father's warnings.

Catalina is restored to a position of wealth and respect and manipulates Harry to remove Margaret's power in court so she can act as queen.

Upon her return to court, she eventually realizes that the news of a scandal between two courtiers was actually a cover-up for Harry taking a new mistress during Catalina's lying-in.

Catalina begins to see Harry as childish and demanding, and manipulates him to make her Spanish Ambassador and unites him with her father to invade France together.

The review summarized; "Gregory makes the broad sweep of history vibrant and intimate—and hinges it all on a bit of romance.