An antiquarian for the National Museum, Christina Blackburn has her reasons for disguising her smoldering beauty with a pair of prim spectacles and an icy facade. She posed for a painting that scandalized the Victorian art world and it nearly ruined her life. Ever since, she has vowed to suppress her passionate nature and keep her identity a secret. But when the museum sends her on a trip across Scotland, Christina finds herself face-to-face with the same notorious painting and its dangerously handsome owner.
Sir Aedan Arthur MacBride knows the local legend about the sleeping maiden, of course, but refuses to believe in such a curse. Then he gazes upon this very real maiden's face, and he knows he is utterly doomed.