After rebellious, obstinate, and sensitive seven-year-old Emilia Bassano becomes the ward of two aristocratic women following her father’s sudden death, she develops the wherewithal to write plays attributed to Shakespeare.

Who wrote Shakespeare? Blocked at every turn, Emilia Bassano reluctantly seals a secret pact with Shakespeare, but at what cost? The most famous writer you’ve never heard of. Until now. In a story that challenges what we think we know about history.

After Emilia Bassano Lanyer hears dark secrets about her ancestry and starts composing her proto-feminist poetic volume, Salve Deus Rex Judaeorum, she is summoned by a retired Shakespeare to compile and edit his thirty-seven plays for posterity; and in doing so investigates, at her own peril, the Shakespeare authorship mystery.

Spain, 1492. One decree threatens to destroy everything. As persecution tears their world apart, Mazal and Jaco must risk their lives, their faith, and their love to survive the Inquisition and fight for a future together.