Elise Beckham comes from a humble, simple family within a village consisting of rich nobles and near royalties. As soon as she turns eighteen, her father marries her off to a man nearly twice her age. But at the ceremony, everything she knew is but a memory.
Peter Brochu is a thief. An expert one at that. When he starts stealing from the very village that Elise lives in, he starts noticing her. He also knows that she's going to marry Richard Mason, or as Peter calls him, Dick. At the wedding, a whole set of wild events happen.
Elise has a knife held to her throat. Dick is actually murdered. The minister turns to the dark side. And all of it leads to the boy who leaves footprints in the snow.