Alone in the world after her mother dies unexpectedly, twenty-six-year-old Lindsay McDonnell turns to her spiritual mentor for refuge. The Buddhist monk reveals the closely held secret Lindsay's mother guarded-her slips through time. With a legacy now on her shoulders to correct an accident of fate, Lindsay must now make her own ventures through the centuries.

During her initiation, Lindsay discovers her mother's travels to the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Fueled by grief, she attempts to connect to her mother in the past. Instead, she lands in the arms of her noble Irish ancestors, where she finds belonging amongst kin that are in a battle for independence with none other than Elizabeth Tudor herself.

Believing she can serve both her need to reunite with her mother and the cause of her new-found family, Lindsay offers herself as an envoy of peace at court. Yet as an attraction sparks into a full-blown love for John Dee, one of the queen's most trusted advisors, Lindsay's loyalties split. Swept up into Elizabeth's polarized kingdom, she learns that her modern sensibilities may not only prove disastrous for her kin but put her own life on the chopping block.