Adair Radcliffe is the mistress of Stanton Hall, which is located on the lush countryside of England near the Irish border. After a raid takes both of her parents' lives, Adair and her maid travel many weeks to reach King Edward, whom they hope will protect her from the border wars. King Edward declares himself her protector and young Adair, age six, will receive the same schooling and training until she turns 16 as the children who will one day rule England.

After 10 years, Adair decides she wants to return to Stanton, so she approaches the king to ask him to send her back. For political reasons, King Edward agrees, with the stipulation that Adair marry the man of his choice. Instead of agreeing, Adair flees to Stanton on her own and unbeknownst to her, begins the long journey to a fate and destiny that will define her and those she loves.

As the first book in a new historical romance series, it was a good and descriptive read, but very typical of Beatrice Small. While reading A DANGEROUS LOVE, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd read this story before. And the use of modern slang to describe intimate moments did not fit the era and was a bit disruptive to the reading experience.