Sex and ambition define Isabella of Farnese (1692-1766). The second wife of Philip V, the first Bourbon to reign in Spain, she was a master of intrigue and diplomatic trickery. She manipulated a husband with bipolar disorder, and overruled the heir to the crown, Ferdinand VI. All to ensure that her son, Carlos, becomes king of Spain.

But until she achieves this goal, Isabel, an energetic and strong-willed woman like few others, will have to win her space and protect it from numerous enemies, in a court where men have monopolised and still monopolise all the power, until now.