Thanks to his father's political machinations, grieving widower Colonel Pierce Duval only wants to leave his family home in New York and return to his Union command in Tennessee. A chance and harrowing encounter with a true-blue Southern belle stirs emotions he thought long buried. When her safety is at stake, how can he not help her?

Cerisa Fontaine ran away from her wealthy Louisiana home to build a new life away from her family's awful secret. But her controversial marriage and southern drawl make her a pariah in New York. Her situation becomes downright perilous when her husband is killed in battle. Alone and penniless, Cerisa is forced to seek employment at the only establishment that will accept her: a brothel.

Each for self-serving reasons, Pierce and Cerisa embark on a journey to Tennessee posing as a married couple. But as secrets stand between them, passion wages its war within them. All too soon, they must make a life altering choice: remain loyal to their cause, or give in to their heart's desire.