Johanna, a young, golden-haired English Lady, had been married to a cruel, abusive man while barely out of her teens, and while her self-confidence and spirit were nearly beaten out of her during the loveless marriage, she retains enough of both to defy her king when he tries to wed her to another unworthy baron. Through clever manipulation, Johanna manages to delay the unwanted marriage. Her brother, Nicholas, knowing that her reprieve cannot last long, manages to ultimately save her from the king's clutches, and persuades her to move to the Highlands to wed the recently appointed laird of a burnt-out castle.
Her initial meeting with large, dark and gruff Gabriel McBain does not go well. Nicholas had described the laird as a kind and gentle man; she finds, instead, that he is arrogant, demanding, and prone to giving orders. Gabriel, while enchanted with Johanna's beauty, pronounces her too timid, too frail for the rough Highland weather, naive and full of daft opinions.
The events that follow throughout their first months together continue to reveal their true characters to each other, and an unshakable bond of trust and love is formed that in the end helps them to defeat a royal plot set up against them.



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