Wilhelmina Bellingham is an ardent Tory and has two goals in her young life—catching the rebel traitor General Francis Marion and avoiding marriage to the fool to whom she was promised when she was only a babe, a man she has never met. Her first goal is within reach, for Willa knows South Carolina's swamps as well as any rebel, shedding her betrothed, however, is another matter. When his half-brother is killed, Captain Brendan Ford, a spy with Marion's patriots, assumes his identity as Lord Montford—and fiancé to Wilhelmina Bellingham. As his deception begins to fall apart, he convinces Willa he is a double spy, and makes a fatal decision—to romance her, capture her loyalty, and prevent her from exposing him to her father. But while he is ensuring Willa's allegiance and love, she manages to steal his heart as well.