Lovely Emily Meriton had always been fond of Edward, Lord Palin -- so she was quite please with their engagement. But before a wedding announcement could be made, a darkly handsome stranger arrived, claiming that he, not Edward, was the rightful heir to the family title.

Can it possibly be true that the stranger is Edward's cousin... believed to have perished ten years earlier in France? The puzzling questions surrounding his identity grow more complex and Emily finds herself caught up in the conflict. But even more troublesome are her feelings for this mysterious man -- feelings far more powerful than fondness....