She has once been a beautful noblewoman called lady Isabeau, betrothed at birth to the handsome squire Jared de Navarre. But all that changed when the Crusades began, and Isabeau was abducted, transported to the torrid climes of the Mideast, and sold... Jared had journeyed east, vowing to stay until he found his lady...but there his hopes died and his heart hardened. Now called the Black Lion, he is a fierce mercenary, about to begin a dangerous mission in the empty employ of a mysterious black-veiled renegade warrior... Jared never guessed that Isabeau had survived, fleeing the erotic realms of a harem to become this legendary desert rebel. Now, face to face, Isabeau believes Jared can never accept the things she has done, the woman she has become. And as death and betrayal swirl around them, their chance for love may be destroyed...unless they learn that fighting for each other is the most important battle of all...