'Royal court intrigue at its finest.' – Historical Writers Association 'A stunning novel about the birth of the United Kingdom that demonstrates the scholarship of the author, as well as her imaginative power.' – Richard Holloway It is 1603. Life is a Babel of languages and glittering new wealth. George Heriot, jeweller to King James VI and I, moves with the Court from Edinburgh to London to take over the English throne. King James gives Shakespeare his first secure position, and to calm the perfidious religious tensions, he commissions his translation of the Bible. George becomes wealthier than the king as he creates a fashion for hat jewels and mingles with Drummond of Hawthornden, Ben Johnson, Inigo Jones and the mysterious ambassador Luca Von Modrich... However both king and courtier bow before the power invested in their wives.