BRITAIN - 619 AD. Cynewyn - an ealdorman's widow - has had enough of men ruling her fate. She dreams of making a fresh start, of running her own hall. But, her plans must wait, as the king has just ordered Cynewyn to abandon her village. Among the men escorting her and the surviving villagers back over the border is her former suitor, Wilfrid. Ten years earlier, Cynewyn spurned Wil, in favor of a more confident and charming man. Humiliated, Wil left her father's hall, never to return.
A decade later, time has changed them both. Cynewyn is no longer spoiled and sheltered. Wil has spent years fighting at hisking's side - but he has never forgotten Cynewyn, or stopped loving her. Intenton being no man's property, Cynewyn initially denies the powerful connection between them - yet, when the king takes her freedom from her once again, she realizes that the passionate man from her past holds the key to her future.