Beautiful, headstrong Afton is taken from her parents at an early age and raised in the castle, a companion to the earl's daughter. Schooled in the ways of kings and surrounded by splendor, Afton falls in love with the earl's son, brave Calhoun, her childhood protector. But Calhoun's mother, the Lady Endeline, has much different plans for him than marriage to a villein's daughter. Suddenly Afton's world is torn viciously apart. She is cast out of the castle, given to a man she fears and despises as a reward for his loyalty-an all too clear reminder that, for all her dreams, she is nothing but a villein. Now all she has left is a burning desire for vengeance . . .