The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Gregory, Philippa. The Last Tudor. Atria Books, 2016.

The plot of this book follows the real account of Jane Grey, the nine-day queen of England, and her sisters. Jane knew she was not meant to sit on the throne; King Henry VIII's will became law, handing the throne down to his young son, then his oldest daughter Mary, then the youngest daughter, Elizabeth. Both women were older than their half-brother, who had to rule with an advisory council because he was so young. Men on this council have had a taste of power and they want to keep their hand in the middle of the kingdom's affairs. They decide the best way to do this is to arrange marriages of their children. The Greys were named has heirs after Mary and Elizabeth, so the Grey daughters are married to the sons of politically powerful men.

Jane knows their plot is wrong, and as critical as she is of her father's desire for worldly things, she cannot deny her own desire to be head of the Church of England. She is very studious and strict about her Protestantism, seeming more along the lines of a Puritan, which was radical for her day. Jane does all the right things -- she denies that she should have the throne, she obeys her father when he insists she take the crown, she obeys her mother when she prepares her for the royal bed on her honeymoon night. And for all of it, her parents turn her back on her when the future Queen Mary makes her way to London to take her throne from Jane. Jane is beheaded for her act of treason.

Upon Jane's death, Katherine is the Grey family's next heir. She falls in love with her best friend's brother, Ned Seymour, but cannot find a good time to ask the queen for her permission to marry him. Queen Elizabeth is a raging fury, especially when it comes to matters of love. She is in love with one of her horsemen, but he is married and does not have a royal bloodline. Still, his family is liked well-enough that he and Katherine together could pose a threat to the throne. Katherine decides not to wait to get married and secretly marries and gets pregnant. When the queen finds out, she imprisons both Katherine and Ned so neither of them can gain public support or raise an army to remove her from the throne. With Katherine shamed, the next Grey heir is the youngest daughter, Mary. Like Katherine, she also wants to live and love, and also secretly marries since the queen allows no marriages until she is married and has a son. Mary and her husband, Ned, are also imprisoned.

Katherine and Mary try to wait out the queen, hoping for their caring public to plead for their release. They did, and it only made Queen Mary madder and more determined to keep them locked up. If released, she believed them to be conspiring to take her throne. Even if the Greys were not trying to usurp the queen, the public might have. They believe Queen Elizabeth is an immoral tyrant and would love to have either of the Grey girls on the throne.

During Queen Elizabeth's reign, she buries Jane, Katherine, and Mary's mother, Frances, who dies of illness and Katherine, who is overcome by depression and dies of malnutrition. She gives them each a grand funeral and even pardons Katherine after her death and re-legitimizes her wedding. To the queen, the funerals were grand parties to celebrate the end of the threat they each posed to her. After Mary's husband dies, she no longer fears her as a threat, and the youngest Grey is finally released from prison.