Edward is the King of England. He's also dying, which is inconvenient, as he's only sixteen and he'd rather be planning his first kiss than who will inherit his crown. Jane, Edward's cousin, is far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately, Edward has arranged to marry her off to Gifford to secure the line of succession. And Gifford is, well, a horse. That is, he is an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated) who becomes a chestnut steed...

A fictional portrait of Lady Jane Grey, the great-niece of Henry VIII, follows her turbulent life against the backdrop of Tudor power politics and religious upheaval, from her youth, to her nine-day reign as Queen of England, to its tragic aftermath.

Historian David Starkey depicts the princess's tumultuous life from her birth in 1533 to her accession to the throne in 1558. He recreates the characters, schemes, and plots that overshadowed those years, as well as describing the age's religious turmoil and political chaos.