Sarah Paris never had an easy life, but she took those lemons that life gave her and turned them into her special brew of hard knocks liquor. It's the kind of liquor that never goes down easy and always burns. It matched Sarah's brash, selfish personality; a personality that didn't think twice about sleeping with her sister's boyfriends or using men to get what she wanted. Life was unkind to her, so why not dish it back? Distancing herself from her family, she embarked on a secret life that introduced her to a world that would ultimately crush her. Sarah fought for her life and her sanity with the help of her best friend, Sandy, and her baby sister, Sloane. As she's piecing her life back together, Sarah meets Roman Mancini, a man who awakened in her everything she'd hardened her heart to. He made her want things out of life that she always felt were unattainable, and he made her feel things that she never felt before - until someone from her past not only threatens her happiness, but her life and the lives of the ones she loves. Roman Mancini has a past that he worked long and hard to leave behind him. He's a successful business developer who moved from New York to Detroit to help rebuild the inner city hit hardest by the economic downfall. However, someone behind the scenes is hindering his plans, and when he uncovers who it is, he realizes that it goes deeper than he thought. In the meantime, in the unlikeliest of circumstances, Roman meets a beautiful woman who instantly fascinates, infuriates, and turns him on all at the same time - Sarah Paris. As they get to know each other, they find out that their pasts are intertwined and things become very dangerous for both of them. Roman vows to protect Sarah and her family and does everything in his power to do so. Will Sarah be able to tackle the pain of her past so she can have a future with Roman? And will Roman be able to once and for all put his past behind him with the hopes of starting a new life with Sarah?