Angelica, a rebel heiress, is trapped in New York City, now occupied by the British Army. A redcoat officer she despises wants to make her his wife - so badly that he brutally abducts her. Rescued from certain dishonor by handsome Jack Carter, a man of mystery whom she has met only once before, Angelica finds herself with no other choice than to flee with him, up the Hudson to her northern home. The Revolutionary War is in full swing in every part of the valley, and their way is full of deadly peril. The villainous officer is in hot pursuit. Can Angelica trust her life and her honor to Jack, whom she hardly knows? Or is daring Jack Carter just another gentleman schemer with designs upon her Independent Heart?

The daughter of a violently unhappy marriage, Claire Lammond is resolved never to love or marry. For the sake of her ambitious brother, she breaks one resolution and marries Captain Justin Sumners, lately returned from the Peninsular War. Will she be able to fulfil her other resolution and keep her heart independent? Elizabeth Grant's first novel follows the fortunes of two strong, engaging characters in early nineteenth-century England. At its core are family ties - between son and father, children and parents, sisters and brothers, siblings and cousins - all tested and strained by the demands of politics, love, and duty.