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For centuries, readers have debated the identity of the mysterious and seductive Dark Lady in William Shakespeare's sonnets.

Emilia Bassano - lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, patron of the arts and the first woman to establish herself as a professional poet in England - could be the answer.

Emilia Bassano is new to Queen Elizabeth's court and unschooled in its dangerous intrigues. She quickly catches the eye of Lord Hunsdon, the Queen's Lord Chamberlain, and becomes his mistress. When she falls pregnant, Hunsdon arranges a hasty marriage to her brutish cousin, the court musician, Alfonso Lanyer. However, it is through her unhappy marriage to Alfonso that Emilia manages to spend more and more time with the fascinating and elusive playwright, William Shakespeare.

Time goes by and, despite all their better judgement, they fall in love. But the course of true love never did run smooth, and the Virgin Queen does not take lightly to her ladies straying. These star-crossed lovers must fight for their love -- and, eventually, their lives.