Years ago, King Wilhelm lay dying, and his eldest daughter, Princess Isabelle, was days from becoming queen. Her younger sister Imogene could never bear it. She had envied Isabelle all her life — and when Isabelle married Thomas, the man Imogene secretly loved, that envy turned to poison.

Imogene invited the family to an elaborate dinner to "celebrate" her sister's coronation. Isabelle and Thomas suspected her, but refusing would have been an insult the crown could not afford. So they went — and they prepared. Only they and the royal seamstress, Betsy, knew what was at stake.

The family did not survive the night. But the youngest, baby Mary, did — because she is immune to poison.

Now Mary is grown. She is Alice, Betsy's daughter — the royal seamstress's girl, with a gift for confections — and the newest applicant to be the queen's taste tester, a post that almost always ends in death. Inside the palace she must play along and wait, gather proof, find allies, and survive every meal set before her. Because the plan her mother made all those years ago is finally in motion.