The mercenary's innocent bride Lord Stefan de Montfort is a true rebel – with the scars to prove it. Deemed a mercenary and exiled from England, he now lives by his own rules. When he plucks Englishwoman Anne Melford from the sea, and takes her to his château in Normandy, the spirited beauty fires within Stefan a disturbing, forbidden desire. Such a lady could never marry a scoundrel like him – but this dark and dangerous lord is determined to break one last rule and claim her as his bride!