Given the chance to free her from a loveless marriage, will his honor be stronger than his love? Only after his regiment is recalled to the Continent to fight the horrific battle of Waterloo does Captain Geoffrey Mantell at last see the truth, that Miss Emily Chandry, the unfortunate daughter of the miser next door, is more to him than his childhood playfellow. He comes back to England after the war to claim her hand, but he is too late---Emily is lost to him, the wife of a stranger who does not seem to care for more than her social connections. Reeling from this turn of events, Geoffrey must try to move on. But Emily's situation will continue to haunt him until a mystery surrounding her late father opens up opportunities to change her fate, and he can only hope that his love for her will not drive him to go too far.