For seven years, Ceressa Quarles has idealized Latimer Kirkleigh from afar. The man she finally meets is a bitter, jaded stranger. When tragedy forces her to flee her English home, Latimer makes a shocking offer: his name and his protection in a marriage of convenience. Thrust into the raw, unforgiving colonial wilderness, Ceressa finds her new husband is as untamed as the land around them, fighting the ghosts of a past he refuses to share. Trapped in a loveless marriage and surrounded by the dangers of a budding rebellion, Ceressa must fight for the heart of a man who has lost faith in himself. But in a world on the brink of war, she'll discover that the most dangerous battle is the one for a love she never expected.