"I didn't come here to talk about your damned marriage," she pointedly brought the conversation to a close. There was no purpose in going around in circles. "I came to ask for your help." "Yes, I know." He was angry now. It was futile attempting to conceal it. The negative emotion fired his blood as lava might a volcano. "You came here for money." His breath was ragged. "And what would I get for my two hundred thousand dollars?" He demanded, his expression inscrutable. For the first time, Abi saw him as an implacable ruler; a man used to getting everything he wanted. It was intimidating. She swallowed nervously. "More than you know," she whispered the words, thinking of their son -- sick and scared on the other side of the world. With the exalted Sheikh Kiral Mazroui's wedding to a much-loved princess only days away, the last thing he expects is for an American lover from his past to arrive at his palace begging for help! At nineteen, Abi McClean was left burned and bitter by Kiral Mazroui. She'd fallen in love with a man, completely ignorant of his exalted status as ruler of one of the most powerful countries in the world. Miserable and alone in the wake of his departure, the discovery of her pregnancy leaves her with one unshakable belief: if The Sheikh knew of the baby they'd made, he'd take it away and raise it with his new wife. But when their son turns two, Abigail realizes they can no longer keep the child's existence a secret. A heart condition places him in a life or death scenario that only an expensive operation can hope to heal. Still terrified of the consequences, but far more terrified of losing her little boy for good, Abigail flies to the magical-seeming desert kingdom of Delani to ask the one man she's most afraid of to intervene for the sake of their son. The tangled web of secrets, lies, love and lust continue to weave around this couple and all the while the mythical belief in an ancient tale of The First Sheikh of Delani colours their decisions. With a little boy's life in the balance and the fate of the country on Kiral's shoulders, will he be able to choose between his heart and his honour, his duty and his desire?