A farmer's daughter and heiress, Catherine fell madly in love with wastrel Harry Dunnan. Married for a month, Harry buys a commission in the Lowland Scots Fusiliers and leaves to fight the French in Canada. During that time, Catherine receives thoughtful and perceptive letters regarding his life so far from home. Catherine thoroughly peruses his letters, remaking Harry into a compassionate and insightful man. On the arrival of a letter announcing his death, Catherine descends into an all-encompassing despair. Swallowed in grief, Catherine is unaware of her surroundings.

Moncrief, the youngest son of a duke, joins the military to escape his home. He challenged and disagreed with his father on every issue. Finally, his father sends him into the military to rid himself of Moncrief's presence. The military molds him into a fearless and confident man, yet a lonely one. When a fellow officer asks Moncrief to write to his wife, he never expects to fall in love. At the unforeseen death of his father and siblings, Moncrief returns to England to assume the title.

Stopping at Dunnan's home to convey his regrets to his widow, Moncrief is shocked to find Catherine teetering at death's door. Wallowing in grief, Catherine has steadily begun taking laudanum to get through the days and nights. If ever there is a woman who needs rescuing, it's Catherine. Realizing his duplicity in writing the letters has added to Catherine's illusion of her husband, Moncrief takes responsibility of Catherine. However, can a relationship based on dishonesty survive?

Ms. Ranney gives us a powerful, emotional and touching story of a woman struggling to come to terms with the death of her husband. Readers are taken on a journey filled with raw emotions from Catherine as she grows from a pitiful woman to a woman who's a tower of strength and capable of accepting reality instead of illusion.