Everyone said she was wicked.
Now Cinderella’s stepmother tells her own story…

After the death of her second husband, Lady Etheldreda Verity Isolde Tremaine Bramley is solely responsible for her two daughters, Rosamund and Mathilde, her simpering stepdaughter Elin, a razor-taloned peregrine falcon, and a crumbling manor buried in the woods.

When a royal ball offers the chance to change their fortunes, Ethel risks her pride in pursuit of an invitation for all three of girls – only for her hopes to be fulfilled by the wrong one: Elin.

Yet as her stepdaughter’s engagement to the future king unfolds, Ethel discovers a sordid secret hidden in the depths of the royal family, forcing her to choose between the security she craves and the feckless stepdaughter who has rebuffed her at every turn…