The moment Evelyn Manville enlists in the British Army, his thoughts turn to Dorothy Grieve. He's loved her since they were children, and now he can finally ask her to be his wife. But when she refuses, the heartbroken Evelyn flees to the fringes of the British empire, and doesn't return to London for sixteen years. He's been home just three hours before he runs into his former love, and his old feelings come flooding back. This time, however, she has a proposal for him. A newly minted widow, Dorothy has been left alone to care for Crispin, a son she hardly knows. Desperate for help, she invites Evelyn to come to the country and act as the young boy's tutor. But Evelyn will soon find that Crispin believes his father was murdered—and discovering the truth could break Evelyn's heart all over again.