Seeking to restore her birthright by claiming kinship to the powerful Duke of Buckingham, 16-year-old Rose Scarlet arrives to London on the eve of the Restoration. By using her quick wit and beauty, she survives terrible betrayals and lusty villains while maintaining an indomitable spirit, which gives her courage, even in Newgate Prison. Determined to belong to no man, she nevertheless attains the highest rank any woman could hold in the 1660's as a royal courtesan to King Charles II. From the Southwark stews to grand London houses, Rose encounters glittering courtiers and bloodthirsty highwaymen, avenging whores and noble slaves as she experiences events such as the Great Plague and the Fire of London. But throughout her adventures, lovers, and husbands, Rose cannot forget the one man she truly loves, the one man she can never have. Encompassing high and low, king and criminal, Rose Scarlet tells the story of human struggle and triumph despite war, disease, and devastation during a time of sweeping ambition and terrible greed, when even the lowest subject might rise to the heights of great power. In the tradition of Forever Amber and Gone with the Wind, Rose Scarlet is another grand historical romance that ultimately features a heroine who embodies the transforming age itself as the most chameleon, powerful, and compelling of all the characters.