Ciaran Tamberlane fought at the side of Richard the Lionheart until the day he lost his faith in both the church and the crown. Branded a traitor by his peers, excommunicated by the church and surrounded by dark rumors, he lives in self-imposed exile.Amaranth's attempt to escape her husband's brutality finds her wounded and near death on Tamberlane's land. Fighting against his obligation to return her to her husband,is the fierce attraction he feels for a love he has never known.Together they defy their own destinies and race to save the life of a king.