A desolate land. A determined duchess. A do-over.

In her first life, Amber Thales drew the short end of the stick. Her husband was stony and distant, her marriage was akin to a bed of thorny roses, and her mother-in-law delighted in tormenting her. At the mercy of a paranoid and tyrannical emperor's every whim, she lived a pitiful life and died just as miserably. She was a wilting flower stuck in a barren land, starved and misused.

Her final moments were full of regret, so when she's given a second chance, it turns into a resolve of equal measure. This time, she will live her life to the fullest, protect the land and its people, and create a world where the precious child she lost could thrive.

But what about her cold-as-ice, hard-as-stone husband? In his place is a fresh-faced young man who is often tongue-tied in her presence but eager to please. Did she misunderstand him before, or is he simply yet unweathered by war and misfortune?

By means fair or foul, this stalwart duchess will rehabilitate the East and watch it flourish under her tender care.