Newly orphaned Bia Greenway and her sister visit a rustic country cottage left to them by their grandmother. Outside early one morning to cut Christmas decorations in falling snow, they find a wounded, half-frozen man and bring him inside. Who is he? Who shot him and his horse, and why? Captain Adrian Dewarr, secretive and suspicious as the beguiling Bia nurses him to health, begins to trust the generous sisters. Gradually, he reveals himself, a cruel murder, and the ongoing attempt to commit another to steal an earldom. But he does not tell all. Will Bia accept him when she discovers who he really is?