In the fifteenth century, two families of royal descent, the Houses of York and Lancaster, clashed in an epic series of civil wars to win and control the throne of England. The crown slipped precariously from one family to the other, and not until the destruction of both Houses and the rise of a new royal family, the Tudors, did peace and stability return to the country. Robert Silverberg, writing as Franklin Hamilton, brings the personalities, politics, and events of this complex and exciting period to vivid and relevant life.