In the harsh wilderness of colonial Massachusetts, Martha Allen works as a servant in her cousin's home, taking charge of the neglected household and locking wills with everyone around her - including a mysterious Welshman who works for the family, a man whose forceful nature matches her own.

Thomas Carrier is known throughout New England for his immense strength and height, and as Martha discovers pieces of his past, and his role as a soldier in the English Civil War, her fascination of him grows. But in the rugged new world they inhabit, danger is ever present, near and far. In London, King Charles II is assembling a crew of assassins to capture or kill the man who executed his father.

As the threat of the assassins draws closer, Martha and Thomas' relationship deepens and grows, and Thomas suddenly has everything to lose. It seems that even in the remotest parts of New England, he cannot be free from the haunting legacy of his past.