Cooped up with her placid sister-in-law and children while her brother is away fighting for Cromwell's cause, Mistress Richenda Farrell is secretly pleased when news comes that enemy Royalist forces are approaching Black Castle. Isolated and seemingly impregnable, it would take a sizeable army to overrun the fortress. So although the civil war will liven up the irksome safety of her home, Richenda feels confident they will never surrender. In fact, the irritating behaviour of the castle's new falconer, Daniel Bridge, gives her more cause for alarm.

But fate takes a hand and the castle is betrayed from inside. Soon, Richenda and the other residents are at the mercy of invading forces -- and their leader, the notorious Lord Devenish. Renowned for his pitiless treatment of prisoners, Richenda fears the worst but is determined not to give in. The greatest shock is meeting her loathsome captor face to face, only to discover she has encountered him before -- and on each occasion theirs was a meeting of mutual distrust, contempt, but undeniable attraction. Now, she must choose between her family home, her brother's protection and a passionate but impossible love ...