Claudine Rafferty is rich, reckless and beautiful. So when she throws herself into an arranged marriage with the eminently eligible but notorious Francois de Lorvoire, everyone in Paris is amazed. Determined to cope with Francois's cruelty and indifference, Claudine soon finds herself driven to find love in the arms of Armand St Jacques, one of her husband's vignerons.

But all is not what it seems in the de Lorvoire family. As Claudine learns more of Francois's sinister past, she also inherits some of his most dangerous enemies. And against a background of betrayal and conspiracy, she forced to learn not only whom she can trust, but also whom she really loves...