After the Battle of Bosworth, the York women and Richard's supporters are quickly secured by Henry's men and taken to London. Elizabeth Woodville hides her son Richard, widely believed to be dead, in the attic of her country home, commanding him to flee to safety in Tournai, where he is to live with a simple boatman. Princess Elizabeth (Lizzie) recollects her tryst with her uncle, the deceased King Richard, and resists the prospect of marriage to Henry. In addition to the York women, the girls grandmother, aunt, and cousins are brought to court. Margaret Plantagenet, daughter of George, must protect her younger brother, Teddy, the Earl of Warwick, who is something of a simple child. After their grandmother Cecily is sent to the Tower for denouncing Henry's reign, she coaxes her brother into making a statement of support for Henry, effectively renouncing his claim to the throne, not that he understand what he is doing. His simplicity often leads him to say things that could put the siblings in danger.

Henry is reluctant to marry Lizzie as word of her affair with Richard has become something of an open secret at court. He considers marriage to one of her sisters or cousins instead, but his advisors inform him that such an action would cause Yorkist supporters to rise up against him. He eventually accepts that he must wed her, but decides he will not do so until she is proven fertile. Lizzie is surprised and upset by this arrangement, but stubbornly submits to encounters with the King. When she realizes she is pregnant, she uses an unwitting Maggie to procure mandrake root as an abortifacient, but is stopped by her mother. Elizabeth tells her that together they will raise Lizzie's boy as a true York prince if her brother is unable to reclaim the throne. The wedding goes forward, with Margaret Beauford attempting to make peace with her new daughter in law. Lizzie goes along with things, designing her own dress that the Tudors will assume is red in support of their house and a sign of supplication, but actually represents Lizzie's self perceived status as a whore. She is surprised when Henry protects her honor on their wedding night by faking a virginal blood stain by cutting her foot. 

Henry's also concerned that one of her brothers may live, since their bodies were never publicly displayed or properly buried. His mother takes over the "search" for the bodies, blaming Richard III for their deaths when she in fact is the one who orchestrated the murder. Elizabeth Woodville receives word back from Tournai that her boy never made it to Flemings, and a loyal groom informs her that soldiers have destroyed her home and killed any boy that they found on her lands on Margaret Beauforts orders. Elizabeth has told Lizzie that her "magic" may not be real, and certainly isn't very strong considering the circumstances that the York women currently find themselves in, but still uses some of Lizie's mandrake to cast a spell to send nightmares to Margaret Beauford.