While on his deathbed, King Henry VII knighted Thomas Overby, son of Shropshire landowner Sir Edmund Overby. By the dying King's command, Sir Thomas was immediately thrust into service, becoming Royal Standardbearer to the new King Henry VIII. However, Sir Thomas's position, which gave him anonymity even with its constant visibility, was merely a cover for his emergence as one of Henry's most trusted spies. As time goes on, Sir Thomas becomes a close confidant and envoy of the Crown and is heavily involved in the construction of Henry's favorite ship, . Constant proximity to Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, impacts both Sir Thomas and his wife, Lady Joan, in ways that neither of them expected before moving from their Shropshire estate to Greenwich Palace in London.