Lady Jane Grey, also known as the Nine Day Queen, has just been executed by her cousin Mary Tudor, and her two younger sisters, Mary and Catherine, live in the shadow of their sister's tragic demise. Lady Catherine's fatal flaw is her compulsive desire for love, while clever Lady Mary is burdened with a crooked spine and tiny stature - and both have inherited the royal blood that is more curse than blessing. It is court painter Levina Teerlinc who helps the girls survive Mary Tudor's reign, but when the Queen's sister, the hot-headed Elizabeth, inherits the crown, the world of the court becomes increasingly treacherous for the Grey girls . . .