London 1508 - Henry VII is dying. Courtiers are circling, waiting, and quietly forming a new court around the soon to be Henry VIII. One of these is Thomas Wolsey, chaplain to the old king and clearly destined for a great career in both church and state. In Great Yarmouth, Wolsey's old friend Peter Larke is also dangerously close to death. Peter's sons are priests and their paths clearly marked. But then there's Joan. Unmarried and soon to be alone, her uncle John insists her only option is to become a nun. Her spirit seems broken and lost but Wolsey, a priest sworn to celebacy, suggests a shocking solution...