After returning from war all but totally blind by a would-be assassin's hand, Nathan Oriel spends his days in bitterness and isolation. Until Isobel MacLeod-caught in his steely embrace one fateful night-shatters his world with her Scottish temper, her pride, and her courage.

Isobel, by her own admission a woman of too much brain and too little beauty, is a spinster devoted to keeping her wayward family out of trouble. To Nathan, however, she is beauty, hope, and salvation in one tempestuous package, and he is not above blackmail to coerce her into his world.

Shaken by Nathan's raw passion and fierce determination, Isobel's own defenses and stubborn pride begin to crumble. But can she trust this enigmatic man enough to give him what he wants most dearly of all . . . her love?