It is the year 1822. Tonight, the Duchess in waiting Rhianna Lloyd is having a grand ball for her sixteenth birthday at her family’s estate, hosted by her father Cadmon, the widowed Duke of Whales. All nobles will attend, even the royal family themselves. At this grand party Rhianna will meet her fiancé for the first time. The arranged marriage had been set since she was but a little girl. Her fiancée was chosen by none other than her now deceased mother and Rhianna knows this is her duty; this marriage will make her father smile once more. But, at this ball Rhianna will also meet a man who will send her well planned out life into deep turmoil; a man not of nobility or high stature, but a simple peasant with a deadly secret. This is where the story begins and Rhianna’s life of straight lines and obedience…ends.