Ireland, 1181 To secure peace for her clan and protection for her mother, chieftain's daughter Auder Ó Reilly agrees to marry a powerful Norman baron. Though she desperately hopes the alliance will work, Auder worries she won't be able to please her husband in the marriage bed - a fear she admits to her friend, handsome Viking Gunnar Dalrata. Auder has no difficulty imagining sensual delights with Gunnar, but she doesn't believe he would ever think of her that way. Until the night of Bealtaine, when Gunnar whisks Auder away to introduce her to the true pleasure of making love….