Nearly killed while trying to win back his ancestral home, Black Richard MacCullough is left scarred and mangled; but some scars run far deeper than mere skin. No longer the handsome devil or kind man of his youth, now he focuses solely on rebuilding everything that was lost to the brutal Chisolms and traitorous MacRays. Revenge—while not nearly as important as keeping his clan from starving – is the only thing that keeps his bruised heart beating. With his clan on the brink of starvation and annihilation, Black Richard doesn’t believe his life could get worse. Until King David II decides to put an end to the border wars himself, via a marriage between Black Richard and Aeschene MacRay, the daughter of his sworn enemy. Locked away and all but forgotten because she is deemed imperfect and useless by her father, Aeschene MacRay holds no hope of ever having a husband and family of her own. But hope is the only thing she has left: hope that her vision will miraculously return and that she will regain her father’s approval. But when news arrives that she is to be married off to the chief of her father’s enemy, she has only two choices: put her faith and hope in the monster that is Black Richard MacCullough or remain in the prison her father has created for her. When you’ve lost everything, any risk is worth the taking.

The Saga of the MacCulloughs continues... Lachlan MacCullough never held any dreams or aspirations of being chief or laird of anything, let alone holdings as large and vast as those they have just wrested from the cold dead fingers of one Randall Chisolm. But no man can rule two keeps. Acquiescing to the request of his cousin, Black Richard, Lachlan finds himself acting as laird of the keep until Richard and Aeschene's first born is old enough to take over. Twenty years is a long time to rule over something that isn't truly yours. And what about his heart? There is only one woman for him. However, she is completely unaware that he gave his heart to her the first time he saw her. Known by the MacCullough clan as the auld whore, Keevah lives under the shadow of her past life, tormented by old rumors, and scorned by those around her. Even amongst others, she is always alone... but she never knew how lonely she was until Aeschene, Black Richard's bride, and her maid, Marisse, befriend her. It's only with the help of her new friends that Keevah finally begins to see how bleak her life has been and the brightness that her future could hold. While Keevah would never begrudge her friends their happiness, seeing what a marriage ought to be sparks a longing inside of her. But it's a foolish dream, because there is no man alive who could accept Keevah and her bitter past. Will Lachlan finally find the courage to tell the woman he loves what is in his heart? Will he be able to accept her past? And will Keevah ever find the happiness she desires?