1849, England. Nearly a year since her father died during the London Cholera epidemic, Lily Bowden finds herself in a tiny village in Kent, trapped in a life of unpaid servitude. Along with her mother and younger sister, she relies upon the fragile goodwill of her minister uncle and his overbearing wife. After suffering injuries during a battle in India, Gabriel Holsworthy returns to England, only to find himself languishing in a military hospital in Chelsea. As a second son, he'd gained little favour with a demanding father and is reluctant to go when he is summoned home to Etford Park. Gabriel must accept his brother's tragic death... but it's the ghosts of his own past that haunt him. With Christmas approaching, Lily finds it impossible to be joyful, especially as her poor sister slips into a deep melancholy over their late father. Lily no longer believes in the goodness of others, the Christmas Spirit... or the chance of finding love. For Gabriel, he is adamant never to risk his heart again. When he meets Lily, he is stunned by the spark of passion ignited within, but determined to extinguish it before it grows. No unruly slip of a girl will turn his head... or touch his soul. He will be as bitter as his father... as cold as the first Christmas snow. In the season of healing and forgiveness, will love be the greatest gift of all? (Formerly published as: Christmas Eve at Etford Park)