In 1774, Juliet Catesby lives with her father and sister at Royal Vale, the James River plantation founded by
her Virginia family over a century before. Indigo cultivation is her foremost concern, though its export tethers
her family to the powerful Buchanan clan of Glasgow, Scotland. When the heir of the Buchanan firm arrives on
their shores, Juliet discovers that her father has secretly arranged for one of his daughters to marry the Scot as
a means of canceling the family's debt. Confident it will be her younger, lovelier sister, Juliet is appalled when
Leith Buchanan selects her instead.
Despite her initial refusal of him, an ensuing altercation forces Juliet to flee Virginia. Agreeing to marry, she sails
with Leith to Scotland, hopeful of a better match for her sister, who accompanies her. But once in Glasgow and
faced with the contentious, powerful Buchanan clan, she realizes that the man who saved her from financial
ruin and scandal is the very one she must now save in return.