In an England poised on the brink of civil war, Hester Prynne marries the wrong man, a sinister yet strangely compelling person involved in a bizarre conspiracy. She discovers her mistake too late. What should she do? Should she stay with a man whose warmth is only ignited by passions of the intellect? Or should she flee his increasing oppressiveness?

In this moving story, we step back in time to encounter a younger Hester Prynne. We revisit Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Hester's daughter, Pearl. In one sense they are familiar. In another they are transformed as we discover new truths about characters whose stories were first told in one of America's greatest novels.

Hester discovers an inner strength and embarks on a long journey - one of danger and death, tempest and temptation. In the process we witness the transformation of a quiet English country wife into an outcast who seems a kind of angel.