Seduced and deserted all those years ago...

And now Alicia--or rather the glamorous widow Lady Preston--was returning to her family's Shropshire farm. No longer was she the naive girl so hopelessly smitten and then cruelly rejected by Giles Ratcliffe, the lord of the manor. She was a sophisticated woman, one who could handle the likes of Giles.

But Alicia hadn't reckoned on having to stay in Shropshire and manage the farm. She was hardly equipped for the task and was forced to rely on Giles's help.

His nearness filled her with animosity... and the devastating realization that nothing had really changed.