In the winter of 1662, Elizabeth Stuart, the Winter Queen, is on her deathbed. She entrusts an ancient pearl, rumoured to have magic power, to her faithful cavalier William Craven for safekeeping. In his grief, William orders the construction of Ashdown Estate in her memory and places the pearl at its centre. 150 years later, notorious courtesan Lavinia Flyte bears witness as her protector Lord Evershot--desperate to find it--burns the building to the ground.