In the spring of 1568, Mary Stuart fled her Scottish kingdom and sought sanctuary in England. On the same day, Meg Weaver picked berries in the sunshine, and Kit Wakeman rode home to Aldbridge, his school days at an end. Neither could know that the Queen of Scots' presence would soon cast a shadow over their young lives. When the ill-fated fugitive laid claim to the throne of England she unleashed a fury of rebellion, for in the remote northern counties men desired to see a Catholic queen on Elizabeth Tudor's throne, and destruction would follow in her footsteps . . .