Princess Vezenski had asked Caroline to be a bridesmaid at her wedding. But how could Caroline go through with it? For the princess was marrying Count Antonov, the man Caroline loved deeply and passionately. Princess Vezenski had said it was permissible in the rigid Russian aristocracy to shed tears at a wedding. But Caroline feared she would spill something far more shattering than tears -- for when her heart broke, it might release its terrible secret. A secret that would surely plunge her beloved Count Antonov into poverty and humiliation.