Miss Gillian Kentwell is willing to risk anything to escape the monstrous marriage that her grim guardian has arranged for her. With her twin brother in tow, she flees the estate that is her only home for freedom and safe haven in Scotland--only to discover the dangers of highways teeming with thieves and inns that are dens of iniquity. Fleeing her guardian's hot pursuit, she cannot say no when a handsome, high-living stranger offers a suspiciously helpful hand. He claims to be Julian de Raymond, the Earl of Brinton, and to have only the most magnanimous of motives. But as they make their way to Scotland, only one thing is certain--the undeniable spark ignited between them.