The last thing Leofred Toustain ever wanted was to be tied in marriage to the daughter of an enemy lord. Yet, when a peace treaty is forged in an attempt to mend the war-torn realm of Alemere that is precisely what he is faced with. To add insult to injury, the bride chosen for him is a sullen, silent shell of a woman who recoils from his every attempt at intimacy. Resigned to his fate, he strives to at least form a friendship of sorts with her. In the process, he will discover that there is far more to the woman he married than meets the eye. After a harrowing incident left her broken and hideously scarred, Lady Emery Calliot fully intended to avoid marriage. However, when her only living male relative and guardian signs her life away in a peace treaty, she is left with no other choice. Determined to keep her scars-both physical and internal-a secret, she seeks to place as much distance between herself and Leofred as possible. Yet, the more time she spends with her new husband, the harder hiding from him becomes. Emery will face a daunting decision: reveal her scars and the dark secret accompanying them to her husband and risk his disgust and scorn, or bare her secrets and find acceptance, love, and perhaps, the strength she needs to become whole again.