Amaury de Montvieux returns home from crusade expecting change?but not that his legacy has been claimed by a neighbor, much less that the only way to regain his inheritance is to marry the intruder's daughter. The maiden is known to be both plain and a shrew, but Amaury does not care: he must hold Montvieux, regardless of the price. He's never believed that love should stand in the way of questions of importance. Marriage it will be.

Isabella de Marnis secretly admired the handsome knight Amaury, heir of her father's enemy, long before he rode to crusade, and welcomes this arranged marriage. But no sooner is their betrothal announced than Isabella's older brother dies in a mysterious hunting accident. When her father succumbs to his grief, Isabella is left alone and Marnis undefended. Fearing that Amaury is responsible, Isabella takes refuge in her ancestral home.

Not to be denied, Amaury storms the gates to claim his bride and secure his legacy. Once victorious, he hears whispers of a plot against him. Has the old enmity between their families undermined their vows? Has his clever wife been scheming to hold Marnis in her own right? Or is she a pawn, trapped in a web of another's making, in need of Amaury's protection? Choosing to trust his new bride is the boldest choice he has ever made, but Amaury knows that they can only triumph together. His sole hope is that their alliance is not made too late ? but he has not guessed how much Isabella will surrender out of her newfound love for him.