Belle Desjardins has officially begun her life over, leaving the life of a slave back in Saint-Martin. But as much as she tries, she is still haunted by the nightmares and memories of an existence that was worse than death. Belle is determined to hide from her past, and the dangers that still follow her. There is but one truth that Belle has come to know as fact: men are not safe. She cannot trust them. They will only bring her pain. But Belle never counted on meeting a young man by the name of Peter Denham, who is about to challenge her in all the right ways, and who could quite possibly change her life. But there is one problem. Belle is concealing a very dangerous secret, one that could spell deadly trouble for the both of them.

At three and twenty, Lady Susanna Beresford is at dire risk of being considered an old maid, though she is determined that nothing but the deepest love will incline her to marry, a fact that deeply vexes her mother. As the season closes in 1810 and Susanna prepares to return home to Hertfordshire unattached, she meets the very man who will indeed change her life forever. A man whom high society would deem inappropriate and forbidden based on the very colour of his skin. But there is more to this man than meets the eye, and their meeting sets in motion a series of events that will undoubtably change society as they know it forever.