Lady Mairi Dunwythie awaits the birth of her step-mother's child for its gender will determine her fate. If the child is a girl, Mairi becomes a wealthy heiress with vast lands in Scotland. However, if it is a boy, Mairi only receives a dowry. Mairi hides her impatience with her fate by adapting a serene demeanor that betrays none of her inner turmoil. In the midst of a crisis between the Sheriff of Dumfries and her father, the Sheriff's brother abducts Mairi.

The Sheriff of Dumfries sends his brother, Robert Maxwell, on an impossible task. He is to confront Lord Dunwythie and demand he submit to the Sheriff's edicts. Rob desires peace and attempts to find a way to outmaneuver his brother's grab for power. When he meets Dunwythie's eldest daughter, a solution presents itself. He kidnaps Mairi with a plan to use her to bring peace to the clans.

Once again, Mairi's fate depends on the whims of politics. She is a pawn in the power struggles of the clans. Her calm deserts her and Rob is met with a fiery woman bent on taking control of her life. Their attraction to each other is immediate, but neither will jeopardize their clans' future of peace. Together they must find a solution.

Readers fascinated with history and political machinations will love Ms. Scott's newest tale. She incorporates the political intrigue and the imminent danger of clan warfare with Mairi and Rob's romance. This second book in the trilogy leaves readers clamoring for the story of Mairi's sister in TEMPTED BY A WOMAN.