Elizabeth is devastated when Lamanites attack Zarahemla, and her betrothed is killed in battle. Her friend Joshua whom she has known since childhood is equally crushed; both by the anguish he shares with Elizabeth as well as his own guilt that he could not save the man she loved. But together, the two find comfort in their shared grief. Shemnon, a Lamanite, is a man with many years and many scars, both inside and out. Despite his hatred of what he believes the Nephites to be, he is not without honor, and his heart not without compassion. When he meets Elizabeth he can't say why she seems so familiar, or why her eyes seem so much like those of the daughter he lost years ago. Elizabeth does not know how she remembers the old Lamanite either, for she knows she has never met him in her life. Neither does she fully understand her changing feelings for Joshua as the wounds upon her heart slowly heal, and the caring between them gradually develops into something deeper. But before Elizabeth and Joshua can come to an understanding of what their friendship has become, a new danger threatens their people. This time from within the walls of Zarahemla itself, causing even more troubles for Elizabeth and Joshua and those they hold dear, threatening to destroy everything that matters to them.