A Tapestry of Treason

In 1399 Henry Bolingbroke deposes Richard II and becomes Henry IV, overturning the position of families whose authority depended on the former king. Constance of York, Lady Despenser, refuses to remain a passive witness. Her husband Thomas and her brothers Edward and Richard are divided by ambition, loyalty and survival, while Constance places herself within schemes intended to restore Richard or advance the young Mortimer claim to the throne.

The conspiracies force Constance to treat kinship, marriage and intimacy as political resources. Every alliance carries the possibility of betrayal, and failure threatens execution, forfeiture and the ruin of those closest to her. As she pursues influence in a court governed by uncertain legitimacy, Constance must decide whether the cause she serves justifies the personal losses demanded by treason.