Curiosity and foolishness brought Davina McLaren to ruin in Scottish society. She's lucky her aunt has brokered a marriage with Marshall Ross, a hermit with a reputation worse than her position. Sight unseen, Davina travels to Edinburgh Castle to marry Marshall and begin a new life. Immediately, Marshall's odd behavior, warm and loving at night versus cold and distant during the day, ignites her inquisitiveness. Never satisfied with the status quo, Davina undertakes learning about her husband with probing questions.

Marshall Ross' sterling career as a diplomat came to a crushing end with his imprisonment in China. After months of torture and forced opium consumption, he returns home to recover. Horrible hallucinations drive him almost to madness. Unwilling to lose his title and let his name die out, Marshall takes a bride. He prays he can impregnate her before he succumbs to insanity. Marshall believes his new bride will be meek and quiet, since she married the Devil of Ambrose. He could not be more wrong.

Davina's confrontational style and her quest for answers make her reject Marshall's demand that they share their bodies and not their lives. She believes they should live each day to the fullest and seeks answers for his condition. Pursuing matters further, Davina learns that someone is trying to destroy Marshall and time is running out for her to discover the culprit.

Ms. Ranney has written about emotions so raw and intense, readers will need to stop reading and catch their breath. But Davina and Marshall's riveting story draws readers back into their world as they painfully expose their souls, risking rejection in their search for love.