Being a rich, handsome man of marriageable age is a blessing and a curse. Francois deChevalier is a hopeful romantic but not ready for marriage. Ambitious mothers give him side glances and sly grins at the town gatherings. He's tall, good-looking, and has wealth--and unfortunately is the son of a merchant. Not a man to marry into the local aristocracy. But the Age of Enlightenment has changed the climate of Provence. Francois is determined to become his own man, live his own life, and find a woman who loves him for himself regardless of his father's status. While his father plots to use Francois as his entre into society by way of an arranged marriage, Francois is smitten by a mysterious young woman traveling with a band of nomadic entertainers. A young woman who makes him question everything he's been taught he should want and value. A woman who makes him feel things he never imagined were possible. A woman he can never wed.