A slender figure emerged from the evening mist along Scarborough beach, diamond-like droplets shimmering on raven black hair, and there before Braden Sheffield, Duke of Sherburgh, was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. His anger against the jaded ton had driven him to the seaside to be alone...but his bitterness vanished when he beheld this vision of loveliness. Unexpected, unsought but unmistakable, the purity of this young woman would rekindle his faith and capture his heart. Kassandra Grey had run to the deserted strand to escape her father's rages and her recurring nightmare of a yawning abyss and a screaming fall. Now she found safety with this strong, handsome lord, whose arms offered a haven from wrenching anguish and an awakening to blazing passion. But the deeply buried secret that caused Kassandra's fear was also leading them toward danger...to a towering cliff where terror once began...and to the dark places of the soul where love could become a torment...or the fulfillment of all their most glorious dreams.