Jean Macrae was born into a leading Scottish Guardian family. Her father and brother are masters of the extraordinary powers that all Guardians use to protect their homeland. But what magic Jean can muster is painful to use, and she seldom calls upon it. During a visit to Marseilles to attend a Guardian wedding, Jean meets a handsome stranger who kidnaps her, claiming the Macrae family owes him a blood debt. Her abductor, Captain Zander, threatens to sell her into slavery on the Barbary Coast. Will he follow through, or as her Guardian magic subtly suggests, can his mind be changed by a woman with whom he is swiftly falling in love?