As the Tudor princess Elizabeth ascends the throne, the affairs of England hold little interest for Mercedes Lavois. The young French heiress has problems of her own, including staying one step ahead of her wealthy aunts' insistent plans for her to marry. When a messenger arrives with urgent news, the solution seems at hand; Mercedes' estranged father is ill and requests that she journey to see him. The unexpected request presents a welcome escape, but little does Mercedes realize that fulfilling it will carry her straight into the middle of a plot to seize the English throne. Deep in the forests of Essex, Sir Edward Thompson thinks his situation is already as complicated as it can get. His father, the Earl of Falwell, has been falsely accused of treason. Edward and his trusted followers must find a way to prove his father's innocence and expose the real culprit, but time may be running out when a black-haired beauty discovers their camp.