This story is the first of three that will tell the story of three of the four Tremaine siblings. Stephen is the eldest and responsible for the estate after the war and is working with his ailing father to bring it back to its pre-war glory. Jude is the next son who spent the war years too young to fight, away at West Point, with his goal a career in the Army. This story centers on the eldest of two daughters Ella Tremaine. She is a fiery red haired beauty, with plenty of admirers among her acquaintances. Yet, she can only see them as the boys she played with as a child while growing up on the expansive Tremaine land on the outskirts of Philadelphia. She has been pampered, petted, and showered with love from her two older brothers and her doting parents. She wants a passionate love like her parents share but she is at a loss as to who will be the man she can give her heart to. The youngest child in the family is Star, the spoiled, playful, busy, loving baby of the family. The moment Captain Jacob Severn sees Ella his world is turned upside down, and his heart is in danger of being captured. Ella is the sister of his best friend Stephen. Jacob is a handsome, confident, and experienced man, with a job to do which could turn deadly for himself and his partners. He is surrounded by less than desirable companions, and has no place in his life for a young, beautiful, and innocent woman. These two people deal with an unexpected and overwhelming passion, the unwelcome interference of family and friends, and the fight of their lives as they struggle to be together in post civil war Philadelphia and Raleigh.