A flashy knight with a scandalous reputation and a much-pursued heiress find themselves tangled up in an unconventional love story. But all is not as it seems. Will hidden secrets destroy everything? 1195 A.D. - Sir Galen Burleson (from Guardian of Darkness) has a love 'em and leave 'em reputation. Enormous and powerful, he is the captain of the army at Hexham Castle. Galen is in control of his life and his future until his dying father, tired of his son's roving ways, demands he marry. But Galen isn't allowed a choice - his father already has a wealthy bride in mind: Lady Lorica de la Beauvriere, the sole heiress of the St. Nicholas Court Castle fortune. Aside from thinking that his father is mad, Galen has no intention of pursuing a woman who, by all accounts, is much-pursued already. He doesn't need, or want, the competition. St. Nicholas Court is a powerful castle with old Norman money but Galen would prefer to chase women of his own choosing. However, his father finally confesses his reasons for the St. Nicholas Court heiress choice - the Burleson wealth, once substantial old Saxon wealth, is gone. But the reason why it is gone shocks Galen to the bone. Now, he has no choice but to pursue the wealthiest unmarried woman he knows - Lady Lorica. Lorica de la Beauvriere isn't an ordinary lady. Highly educated and highly trained in a variety of feminine and non-feminine pursuits, she's the smartest person in the room when suitors come to call. Her wit is biting, her manner brusque and superior, and Galen walks into a deluge of resistance and insults right from the start. But that only serves to intrigue him. And with that, a very unconventional love story is born. Join Galen and Lorica on an adventure of a lifetime, where all is not as it seems, where dark secrets can crush, but also where love can repair the damage and divide. When Galen is called to battle and a young life is cut short, it's Lorica who finally understands what it is to love and be loved. And Galen who decides that Lorica is the only woman for him. (Note: this book is tied to Guardian of Darkness and all three de Reyne brothers make an appearance)