A poor runaway during the Elizabethan period, Lucy does not have many options. Her luck turns around when she is taken on as a maid in the household of Dr. Dee, a real-life figure who was court magician to Queen Elizabeth I.

The household is strange and sinister, and Lucy has a nose for intrigue. So when she stumbled across a plot to assassinate the queen, Lucy must find means to warn her . . . before it's too late.