Cristabel was charged with delivering two young children to their reclusiveuncle. Except when she arrived, Uncle Roland, wanted nothing to do with anyof them. Roland was everything he reputation said he was and more, andCristabel found herself stranded in the house with this man and not so sureif it was a bad thing after all. Roland eventually came around to allowingthe children to stay as long as Cristabel agreed to stay as chaperone.Roland had one wife who betrayed him, and now is suspect of all women,including Cristabel. But eventually, Roland begins to see Cristabel in abetter light and they fall in love. This was a good story for the most part,except there was a lot of cruelty that Roland heaped on Cristabel that Ifound hard to forgive. It was often hard to sympathize with Roland, eventhough he had been hurt, but he made up for his cruelty in the end.