Christmas 1497. Lambeth Palace on the banks of the Thames, the official home of the Archbishop of Canterbury and England's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Cardinal John Morton. As the second most powerful man in England after King Henry VII, Cardinal Morton is holding a grand Christmas feast for the entertainment of the Spanish Ambassador who has arrived to sign the marriage contract between Prince Arthur and Princess Catherine of Aragon. The other ambassadors invited to witness this event, of France, Flanders and Portugal, are eyeing the prospect of an Anglo-Spanish alliance with some consternation. They would dearly like to throw a spanner in the works... ..who is at that moment languishing in the Cardinal's cellar beneath the palace.