England, 1643

The Civil War has created a great divide between those who support King Charles and those who would rather see his head on the block. Young Scot Colin Blackburne finds himself caught in the middle when he witnesses Parliamentarians murder his mother because of his father's allegiance to the king. As further punishment, the family is sent to Yorkshire as indentured servants.

Mistreated by his Puritanical overseer and harassed by a Parliamentarian soldier, Colin vows to take up arms for the king and seek vengeance against the men who killed his mother. The only bright spot in his life is his unexpected--and forbidden--friendship with his master's daughter, Emma Hardcastle.

With her father constantly away on campaign and her mother plagued by madness, Emma is drawn to Colin and his brother, Roddy. She introduces them to their troubled neighbor Alston Egerton, who has a clandestine relationship with Stephen Kitts, the soldier out for Colin's blood.

As they all become entangled in a twisted web of love, jealousy, desire, and betrayal, the war rages on around them. Resentful at being forced into servitude and forbidden from being with the woman he loves, Colin puts his plan for vengeance into motion, though it will have disastrous consequences for all of them.

While secrets are revealed, relationships are torn apart, and the country teeters on the brink of ruin, Emma fights to survive, Alston is forced to confront his demons, and Colin must decide where his allegiance lies and whether his burning desire to fight for justice is worth sacrificing a future with the woman he loves.