Set in 1795, a year since Lord Roland Stratton left Cornwall for France to undertake a secret mission for the British government. When her father is felled by a stroke brought on by desperate financial problems, Melissa Tregonning has to try to keep the family boatyard running & pay off his debts. Determined to protect his reputation, she must keep his plight & her efforts a secret, even from her family. She is helped by a mysterious stranger discovered living in woods on her fathers l&. But who is he? Why does he seek solitude? & what ? or who ? caused his terrible wounds? Attraction neither dare acknowledge deepens into love. But dark secrets threaten to part them forever, until Melissas courage leads to a revelation that changes everything.