England's King Henry VIII becomes increasingly desperate for a male heir and casts his eye on the alluring Anne Boleyn, whose father is only too happy to stoke the fires of passion between the married king and his less-than-virtuous daughter; Cardinal Wolsey's loyalty to the Catholic Church, the Pope, and the king's marriage to Queen Katherine strains his relationship with Henry and makes him vulnerable to plotters; Henry's best friend Charles Brandon and his sister Princess Margaret hide a torrid affair.