On her way to Scotland to be a companion for her great- aunt, Margaret Amberley is caught unaware by a blizzard. With the carriage slipping and sliding on the treacherous roads, she takes shelter at an estate. Meg expects the inhabitants to welcome her from the storm. Instead, she meets a surly, inebriated man who reluctantly offers her refuge. While the storm rages for numerous days, Meg treats her host as she would one of her late naval father's wounded men. She ignores his slights and prods him to provide companionship during the blizzard. After an initial unwillingness, Lord Cade Bryon proves to be an interesting and complicated man.

Unable to come to terms with his past, Cade has chosen to remain in solitude away from his loving family. When he was spying on the French, Cade was caught and forced to watch them torture and kill his fiancé. He still suffers from the physical wounds caused by his torture. Cade survives using liquor and laudanum to ease the pain both mental and physical. What he does not need is an outrageous young lady who challenges him at every turn.

When a neighbor catches them without a chaperone, Cade concocts a plan to prevent Meg's reputation from being destroyed. They will go to London and pretend they are engaged. At the end of the Season, Meg can jilt Cade and he can go back to his solitary existence. However, plans change when feelings become real. Then a man appears from Cade's past and the sanity that was returning threatens to be destroyed.

Ms. Warren develops an unorthodox heroine full of spirit for her fallen hero. Cade's endeavors to overcome old memories and a wounded heart make a compelling and poignant story. The large Byron family who surrounds and protects them when a crisis arises adds to the heartwarming story.