“We women were born and bred to expect marriage, and it all happened when we were too young to know better. ” After the death of her second husband, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two daughters, Ana and Griselda, her simpering stepdaughter Elin, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor buried in the woods. When a royal ball offers the chance to change their fortunes, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of girls – only for her hopes to be fulfilled by the wrong one: Elin. Yet as her stepdaughter’s engagement to the future king unfolds, Ethel discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she craves and the wicked stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn.
