When Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon does not produce a male heir to the throne, Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk and his brother in law Thomas Boleyn plan to install Thomas’s daughter Anne Boleyn. They hope Anne will become the King’s mistress and mother of his son, to the disgust of her mother, Lady Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormond (Thomas Howard’s sister). Anne eventually agrees to please her father and uncle. Anne’s younger sister, Mary, marries William Carey, even though his family had asked for Anne’s hand.

While visiting the Boleyn estate, Henry is injured in a hunting accident, indirectly caused by Anne, and is nursed by Mary. While in her care, Henry becomes smitten with her and he invites her to court. With great reluctance, Mary and her husband agree, aware of what will be expected of her…