Dieter Von Wolfenberg burns to rid his homeland of the tyrannical Holy Roman Emperor. A plot to kidnap the Emperor’s wife goes awry and her English lady in waiting is stolen away instead. When the daughter of King Henry I is betrothed to the Holy Roman Emperor, Blythe FitzRam is forced to travel to the foreign court to serve her mistress. Isolated and disdainful of all things German, she is nevertheless drawn to her captor.

Aidan FitzRam joins the monastic community at Lindisfarne to atone for what he perceives as his role in his parents' drowning. But he quickly realizes he cannot ignore the plight of Nolana Kincade, a Highland lass who is fleeing an abusive stepfather. Their growing attraction to each other bears out the reality his sister has always maintained—he's just not cut out for the religious life.