Wandering dreamily through the Great Hall of Hampton Court Palace, the beautiful eighteen-year-old Zorina bumps into a startlingly handsome well-dressed young man who immediately steals her heart. Hardly able to take hers eyes off his face, she finds herself exchanging tales with him of the ghosts that reputedly walk the Haunted Gallery. She shows him the many fascinating treasures of The Palace that she has come to think of as her own and then she finds that his name is Rudolf.And when he says to her, "Au revoir, Zorina, if you are the Spirit of Hampton Court, you are more beautiful than any Queen or Princess who ever graced it!", a heart-stopping adventure of love begins. Zorina has no idea who he is or where he is staying or even how to contact him, but she is counting the minutes until she can see him again.But then Queen Victoria makes an announcement that dashes all the hopes that are rising in her heart. As the daughter of a Princess, she is of Royal blood and therefore must marry the much older King Otto of the Balkan Kingdom of Leothia to stop their neighbours from taking over his country by force and also maintaining the Balance of Power in Europe. She has no choice but to marry the King no matter how her heart yearns for the handsome Rudolf. Little does she know, however, that Fate has another great surprise in store for her!