Set in 1845, nothing prepared Lady Jacqueline, Duchess of Norgate for the pain of Raven Wing's poisonous arrow as it ripped through her flesh and pinned her to a tree.

She had fled England, leaving behind the cruelty of Edward Washbourne and his maniacal plan to claim her inheritance, only to be struck down when she was so close to safety.

She has less than a day's ride to go and she would have arrived at Edgewater, home of the current Duke of Forkworth, and brother to her dearest friend Millicent. Behind her White Storm lay low over his painted pinto, as he galloped towards the woman and the large grey horse that refused to budge from her side.