When young Walter Raleigh first presented himself before Elizabeth I, he dreamt of carving out an empire in the New World to lay at her feet. But Elizabeth is equally determined to keep this handsome, witty young man at her side. Through years of frustration, violent quarrels, reconciliation, and the challenges and rewards of exploration, Raleigh desperately tries to hold on to his dream. Also appearing in this tale are  some of the greatest personalities of the age: Shakespeare, Marlowe, Sir Phillip Sydney and Sir Francis Drake, making a detailed portrait of the Elizabethan era in all its colorful, contentious glory.