Forced into a loveless marriage with a brutal Cromwellian tax collector, Panthea is rescued on her wedding night by a gallant Cavalier turned highwayman whose flashing blade restores the frightened girl to her dying father. Five years later, when Panthea is the Queen's favourite lady-in-waiting and her Cavalier still a hunted outlaw, their paths cross again. Together they become targets for the greed of her dissolute cousin and the intrigues of Lady Castlemaine, the ambitious mistress of Charles II. Falsely accused of murder, Panthea awaits her sentence. If the highwayman she loves could save her once again, she would follow him gladly wherever he went, whatever the cost....