The lady captive: Being a daughter of one of the Legendary Bastards of the Crown proves to be a blessing as well as a curse for Fia Douglas. Having both English and Scottish blood, she is being fostered in Northumberland per the late English king's wishes. This puts her far from her beloved family and homeland of Scotland.

When war breaks out between England and Scotland, Fia finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alone with a wounded Highland spy in the late queen's secret garden, she ends up being kidnapped by the Scot and brought back to the Highlands, where she is now a prisoner in her own land.

The Highland laird: Laird Alastair MacPherson is wounded and left for dead after being ambushed on English soil. When he stumbles into a secret garden in the woods to find refuge, he discovers a red-haired beauty whose life he'd saved several years earlier. She is inclined to help him so she can pay back the favor. But when his life is threatened once again, he is backed into a corner and has no choice but to use her as a hostage to escape.

Can a rugged Highlander love a lass whose secrets threaten to ruin his one chance at redemption? And will a woman who has fallen in love with her captor be able to betray him if necessary?