In 1471, merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters. The elder, Jane Shore, soon begins a notorious liaison with King Edward IV. The other sister, industrious and clever Isabel, is wed to the scion of a wealthy silk dynasty—and faces a monumental challenge when her husband is killed. Forced into apprenticeship to her mother-in-law, Alice Claver, Isabel learns to love the exotic fabrics from Italy, Persia, Spain, Tunisia, and beyond, discovering both loyal friends and dangerous enemies in this breathtaking new world. But Isabel's most powerful alliance will be with sister Jane's royal lover. And when the political landscape shifts perilously, one sister will fall while the other rises—as dire choices are made that will change their lives forever.