It was predicted that Reginald Davenport, disinherited and disgraced, would come to a violent end. But fate has given him one final chance to redeem himself, by taking his place as the rightful master if Strickland, his lost ancestral estate. Davenport knows his way around women -- yet nothing prepares him for his shocking encounter with Lady Alys Weston. Masquerading as a manin order to obtain a position as estate manager of Strickland, Alys fled a world filled with mistrust and betrayal. She was finished with men -- yet how could she have predicted that Stricklands restored owner would awaken a passion more powerful than anything shehad ever known? A passion that will doom or save them both ... if only they can overcome their pasts and dare to believe in the wondrous power of love ...