May, 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead. As the axe drops, Thomas Cromwell (Academy Award winner Mark Rylance) emerges from the bloodbath to continue his climb to power and wealth, while his formidable master Henry VIII (Emmy winner Damian Lewis) settles to short-lived happiness with his third queen, Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips, Miss Scarlet). Now, with no great family to back him, no private army, and only his wits to rely on, Cromwell must navigate the dangerous court of a most unpredictable king.