When Queens play the game of "Who Trumps Wins", the consequences can be deadly and far--reaching for those on the wrong side. Consequences can be even harder to bear when one has been the most loyal follower of all!

When young 19 year old Mary, Queen of Scots, and recently widowed Queen of France, chose to leave the comforts of her adopted country to return to her rugged Scottish homeland in 1561, she came not just to help her people, but with a larger plan in mind. She would not rest until she could become Queen of England as well as Scotland. Returning with her were her loyal ladies in waiting, the four Marys and the beautiful and quick tempered Lady Gwyneth MacLeod.

The impetuous Lady Gwyneth, a protestant Scot had only left Scotland a year earlier to enter Mary's Court, was a staunch supporter of the Catholic Queen Mary Stuart and upon whom Queen Mary depended heavily for her knowledge of this wild land and its people to help her consolidate her position. Gwyneth would brook no criticism of her Queen from anyone and when the tall and impressive Rowan Graham, Lord Lochraven, attempted a word of prudence, she was quick to challenge him and let the sparks fly.

Despite her concerns about Laird Rowan, Gwyneth could not resist from responding to his physical charms and when her Queen sends her on a mission to persuade Queen Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, to make Mary the rightful heir to the English throne, the proximity proves her undoing. Will her newfound love now be her death?

With her meticulous research, Shannon Drake has written one of the most intriguing and inspiring romances you will have the joy to read. Resplendently set in the Courts of the two Queens and the rugged Scottish highlands, the love story of Rowan and Gwyeth rings true and provides a fascinating perspective to the rivalry between the Queens as the aggressive actions of Mary and her Catholic followers are met by the canny and dissembling actions of Elizabeth, the consummate politician. A skillful storyteller, Shannon Drake (aka Heather Graham) effectively highlights the circumstances of the high and the low and unprotected by her use of well sketched secondary characters and attention to detail. This is a real keeper of a tale you may want to savour again in the future! A regal winner from this Queen of historical romances!