Yosephine baru mengetahui bahwa sebenarnya ayahnya masih hidup ketika Ayu, ibunya, mengirim surat agar Hendrik Van der Wijk menjemput Yos ke kampung setelah ia terkena penyakit disentri dan tahu bahwa hidupnya tidak lama lagi. Hidup gadis tomboy remaja yang dikelilingi anak-anak kampung yang senang main perang-perangan itu seketika berubah. Ia harus belajar untuk bersikap seperti "lady", menerima dipanggil Fince, dan menghadapi anak-anak Eropa dan Indo di sekolah baru di Batavia yang memandangnya rendah karena ia berasal dari kampung.
Kelompok gadis-gadis populer di sekolah ELS (European Lagere School) yang dipimpin saudara tirinya, Anneke, tambah benci kepadanya ketika murid baru yang populer, Fritz, ternyata adalah sahabat kecil Yos yang dulu pernah tinggal di kampung bersamanya. Kemudian Perang Dunia II pecah dan demi menghindari penangkapan oleh Jepang, Yos dan ayahnya kabur ke Belanda, suatu negara yang tidak pernah dikenalnya. Ia berpisah dengan Fritz. Ibu tirinya dan Anneke ditawan di kamp konsentrasi Jepang.
Setelah ayahnya meninggal di Belanda, Yos yang tidak punya siapa-siapa lagi memutuskan untuk kembali ke Indonesia, hanya untuk mendapati rumah keluarganya telah dijadikan kediaman seorang perwira Jepang yang terkenal kejam namun jenius, Kitaro. Setelah berhasil memperdaya Kitaro dalam suatu taruhan, akhirnya Yos diizinkan tinggal di rumahnya kembali. Walaupun berasal dari bangsa yang bermusuhan, tanpa disadari keduanya menjadi dekat dan benih cinta pun pelan-pelan tumbuh, namun kemudian Jepang kalah perang dan harus angkat kaki dari Indonesia.
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.