AS PAWN OR PRIZE ... Born into a world of savagery and sorrow, Lady Joanna Preston had hidden her chaste, matchless beauty behind hallowed walls —- vowing never to love or take any man to husband. Never did she dream that one day a fierce and noble warrior-knight would come to claim her ... in the name of revenge and soul-searing desire ... with her liberty —- and her heart —- the precious prize ... HE VOWED TO MAKE HER HIS OWN. Swearing eternal vengeance against a royal enemy, Sir Rylan Kempe, Lord of Blaecston, had ridden out in search of the Lady Joanna —- heir to Oxwich Castle and the only woman who could help his worthy cause. He found her cloistered away in a convent —- a virtuous enchantress who stoked the fires of a sinful passion, yet defied him at every turn. As the treachery of kings bound them together in unholy union, his heart was conquered by this spirited maiden who demanded no less than her unconditional freedom —- and no more than his everlasting love.