Walter Cromwell beats young Thomas savagely, sending him bleeding to his sister Kat's tavern to recover.

Thomas boards a ship at Dover with kindly Lowlanders and sails from England to seek his fortune abroad.

Thomas Cromwell joins Cardinal Wolsey's household as a trusted lawyer, fixer, and right-hand man.

Cardinal Wolsey reveals to Thomas that King Henry wants to annul his marriage to Katherine of Aragon.

Liz Cromwell dies suddenly from the plague while Thomas is away on business for the cardinal.

The Duke of Norfolk and the Duke of Suffolk arrive to strip Cardinal Wolsey's household of its possessions.

Cardinal Wolsey dies of illness while being transported toward London to face punishment for treason.

Thomas More reads Thomas Cromwell the oath of loyalty as he is formally sworn in as a royal counselor.

Thomas drafts legislation declaring King Henry the supreme sovereign power, removing England's need to appeal to the pope.

Henry and Anne Boleyn are wed in a small, secretive ceremony.

Anne Boleyn is anointed and crowned Queen of England by Archbishop Cranmer at her coronation.

Anne Boleyn gives birth to a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth, to Henry's great disappointment.

Thomas More refuses to take the Oath of Supremacy and is locked in the Tower of London.

Thomas More stands trial and is found guilty of treason after Richard Riche testifies against him.

Thomas More is executed for treason, and Thomas reflects that his fallen enemy never saw him coming.

Thomas Cromwell escapes an abusive childhood and rises to become Cardinal Wolsey's trusted right-hand man in King Henry VIII's court. When Henry tasks Wolsey with securing an annulment from Katherine of Aragon, Thomas is drawn into the center of one of history's most consequential political crises. The cardinal's failure to deliver the annulment leads to his disgrace and death, but Thomas's loyalty paradoxically earns him the king's trust. Thomas then takes on the task himself, drafting the Act of Supremacy that makes Henry head of the English church and clears the way for his secret marriage to Anne Boleyn. Anne is crowned queen and gives birth to a daughter, but Henry's hopes for a male heir remain frustrated. Thomas More's stubborn refusal to accept the new order leads ultimately to his trial and execution, cementing both Henry's power and Thomas's own position at court.

The headline events driving Henry's break from Rome.

Young Thomas drops the holy medal his sister Kat gave him into the sea as he sails away from England.

Thomas Cromwell marries Liz Wykys after helping her father restore his failing cloth trading business.

Harry Norris arrives at Putney to deliver a comforting ring from King Henry to the disgraced Cardinal Wolsey.

Cardinal Wolsey forces Harry Percy to renounce his relationship with Anne Boleyn, earning Anne's lasting enmity.

Holy Roman Emperor's troops sack Rome and take the Pope prisoner, stalling Henry's annulment case indefinitely.

Thomas Cromwell's daughters Anne and Grace both die from the summer plague.

Kat and Morgan Williams both die, and their orphaned sons Richard and Walter join Thomas's household.

Rafe's negotiations with Norfolk land Thomas a seat in the new Parliament's House of Commons.

Thomas finds Anne Boleyn in Wolsey's former house and unsuccessfully attempts to plead the cardinal's cause.

King Henry makes Anne Boleyn the Marquess of Pembroke, cementing her rise toward queenship.

King Henry travels to Boulogne to meet with King Francis of France and seek support for his new marriage.

Thomas Cranmer is installed as Archbishop of Canterbury following the death of Archbishop Warham.

Henry offers Thomas the position of Master Secretary after Thomas fails to bring More to take the oath.

Anne Boleyn delivers a stillborn child, and Henry begins showing open interest in another woman.

Thomas plans the royal court's autumn travel itinerary and arranges a visit to Wolf Hall.

Thomas Cromwell's story begins with his flight from an abusive home and his gradual building of a life in England — a marriage, a household, and a growing reputation in Cardinal Wolsey's service. Behind the main drama of the king's annulment lie events that quietly reshape the political landscape: the pope's capture by imperial troops, the deaths of Thomas's daughters and sister, and the growing number of people dependent on his household. As Wolsey falls, Thomas scrambles to build new alliances, winning a seat in Parliament and attempting to plead his master's case directly to Anne Boleyn. Anne's elevation to Marquess of Pembroke and Henry's summit with the French king move the royal marriage closer to reality, while behind the scenes Thomas accumulates offices and influence. The novel closes as Thomas steers the court's travel plans toward Wolf Hall, quietly signaling the next chapter of Henry's romantic history.

The behind-the-scenes moments that shaped the main story.

Young Thomas overhears Kat and Morgan regretting their offer and decides he must leave Putney for good.

Cardinal Wolsey warns Thomas that the Duke of Norfolk has spread rumors that Wolsey raised an evil spirit.

Thomas and Liz discuss the large emerald Henry purchased, confirming whispered rumors that the king plans to remarry.

Cardinal Wolsey secretly opens a court of inquiry into the validity of Henry and Katherine's marriage.

Cardinal Wolsey is formally charged with praemunire for exercising foreign papal jurisdiction within the king's realm.

Thomas gains his first direct audience with King Henry and debates the costly prospect of war with France.

Thomas seizes a moment in conversation at Bonvisi's dinner to publicly humiliate Thomas More in front of the emperor's ambassador.

Thomas opens the small package Wolsey left him before his arrest and discovers the cardinal's turquoise ring inside.

A play called 'The Cardinal's Descent into Hell' is performed at Hampton Court, exposing the courtiers' true feelings.

Thomas and Cranmer encounter a quiet young woman in the palace corridor who is identified as Jane Seymour of Wolf Hall.

Thomas is summoned to the king's chamber at midnight and proposes Henry assume supreme authority over the church.

Thomas and Johane's secret romantic relationship is discovered by Mercy, and the two agree to end their affair.

Thomas learns that Archbishop Cranmer secretly married a German woman while abroad and agrees to help conceal her.

Elizabeth Barton confesses to Archbishop Cranmer that all of her supposed visions and miracles were fraudulent inventions.

Richard Riche visits More in the Tower and draws out More's treasonous statement about the limits of parliamentary power.

The pivotal turns in Wolf Hall begin small — a young Thomas choosing to leave Putney rather than live under his father's shadow — and grow into decisions that reshape England itself. Cardinal Wolsey's secret inquiry into Henry's marriage and his subsequent fall from power force Thomas to reinvent himself, forging a direct relationship with the king through clever political maneuvering. A midnight summons to the royal chamber gives Thomas the opening he needs to propose a radical solution: Henry should become supreme head of his own church, with no need to beg Rome for permission. As Thomas's power consolidates, revelations accumulate — Cranmer's hidden wife, Jane Seymour's quiet presence at court, and the exposure of Elizabeth Barton's fraudulent prophecies. The end of Thomas More's long resistance comes not through persuasion but through a careless admission overheard by Richard Riche, sealing More's fate and the triumph of the new English order.