Sean O'Neill was once everything to Eleanor de Warenne but since he disappeared from his ancestral home, there has been no word, and even Eleanor has abandoned hope, promising her hand to another. Then, just days before her wedding, Sean reappears... but the boy who was once her protector is now a stranger, hardened by prison and on the run.

Weary and haunted, Sean refuses to endanger her by pressing his claim. But his resolve to stay away is sorely tested by the determination of a woman who will not be forsaken again.