Brutalized by a man she can never love, Megan Connors flees her Virginia home to start a new life as a schoolteacher on a South Carolina ranch. Steeped in the serenity of her new surroundings, Megan feels her dreams of a good life are finally coming true. Indeed, life would be perfect if not for her infuriatingly rude employer, the wealthy ranch owner Charles Donavan. Unable to deny her growing attraction to Charles, Megan soon discovers the chilling secret behind his grim existence. Determined to help Charles free himself from the ghosts of his past, Megan soon finds herself a target for the wrath of another who stakes a claim to Charles' love. Megan must defeat a powerful enemy, and confront the demons of her own past if she and Charles are to find happiness and escape the dark shadow that falls across them both.