Amiranth St. Clare is only nine when she first glimpses Tristan Geraint, but she falls instantly and totally in love. Six years later, Tristan, now the Earl of Haverlocke, is ordered by the king to choose a bride. Thanks to nasty rumors alleging that he murdered his older brother, Amarinth is the only noblewoman willing to accept his offer. Her joy dies an hour before their wedding, when she overhears Tristan admitting to his friend that he has no enthusiasm for their marriage. After enduring a nightmarish wedding night and the agony of his continued indifference, she is relieved when he sails off to do battle in France. Once there, Tristan is captured almost immediately. For the next eight years, he languishes in prison, sustained only by dreams of the life he will create with Amiranth upon his return. When he finally does escape, he learns from Amiranth’s identical cousin, Lily, that his wife has died of the plague…or so Lily claims.