Miss Sara Cobb has accepted a position as governess at Tregallion House in remote Cornwall. But while traveling to her new home by coach, the former schoolteacher receives a cryptic warning from a fellow passenger. The roguish stranger clearly has no qualms about making Sara ill at ease. Still, she's intrigued by him in spite of herself—even more so when she discovers there is a good deal of truth behind his warnings.

Grenville Martyn is not welcome on the grounds of Tregallion House. An admitted poacher, he is rumored to have seduced—and abandoned—the family's eldest daughter, creating an irreparable scandal. After witnessing Gren's generosity to those in need, Sara cannot believe he is guilty. Yet she fears her judgment may be clouded by her growing affection for him—an affection that is sorely tested when the secrets of the old house rise up and threaten them both