A lifelong passion is an opium addict's only chance for redemption in this erotic romance novel set in Victorian London.

Anais Darnby always adored her handsome childhood friend, Lindsay Markham. And when Lindsay finally confesses his own secret passion for Anais, their future together seems assured—sealed with their searing embrace.

But when a debauched Lindsay is seduced by a scheming socialite, a devastated Anais seeks refuge in another man's bed while Lindsay retreats to the exotic East. There, he is seduced again—this time by the alluring red smoke and sinister beauty of opium.

Back home, Lindsay's addiction is fed by the vogue for all things Oriental—especially its sensual pleasures—in fashionable London society. In his lucid moments, Lindsay still lusts after Anais, who can neither allow him near nor forget his smoldering touch. Obsessed with both opium and Anais, Lindsay must decide which is the one he truly cannot live without.