Thomas Cromwell's patron Cardinal Wolsey is dismissed as Lord Chancellor & forced to flee his palace. The old noble families of England, jealous of their own right to advise the king, have long waited for this moment. Lacking a male heir, the King is desperate to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.

Cardinal Wolsey has been forced out of court to travel north to his archdiocese in York. As Wolsey retreats north, he urges Cromwell to get close to Anne Boleyn. For Thomas Cromwell, this is only a tactical retreat; in time the cardinal will regain the King's favour.

With the Cardinal now dead, it falls to Thomas Cromwell to orchestrate a marriage between the King and Anne Boleyn. He has the King’s favour, but is being closely watched by his enemies.

Anne gives birth to a baby girl, Elizabeth, and Henry does little to hide his disappointment; Anne is aware that her power at court rests on producing a male heir and, in her paranoia, cracks appear in her relationship with Cromwell.

The Act of Supremacy has declared Henry supreme head of the Church of England, but the Holy Roman Emperor and his ambassador, Eustache Chapuys, have refused to recognize either his new title or his marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Anne accuses Cromwell of betrayal when she finds out he tried to protect Mary and not Elizabeth at a time of crisis, but Anne's power is dissolving rapidly and her enemies are gathering.