A WOMAN ABANDONED, A MAN BANISHED, AND FAMINE WALKS THE LAND Johanna of Stanrudde, wife of Katel the Spice Merchant, hates the man her father forced her to marry almost as much as she hates the man who years ago stole her heart and her virginity then betrayed her. Forced to abandon Johanna by her father, Robert of Blacklea has never stopped loving her. Now, as famine walks the land, he discovers a plot to destroy her. He returns to Stanrudde, risking all to protect her from certain death. When Johanna learns Katel is at the root of this plot she must choose to let her husband kill her lover or believe Rob when he vows she has always been his rightful wife.