Set in England, in the year 1645, the night after the battle of Naseby, Elizabeth Bellingham finds a wounded Cavalier soldier in her garden. Nursing him in defiance of the Puritan threat, Elizabeth stands by as Rupert Saunders falls in love with her beautiful cousin, Sarah. The war sees the fall of the girls' family, until Sarah renounces her absent beloved Kit Elbury for the protection of Rupert's devotion. Accompanying her cousin to Rupert's family home, Elizabeth finds friendship with his sister Caroline as the war grinds to its inevitable conclusion. But when Sarah betrays Rupert, he abandons the love Elizabeth offers, asking to mourn in his own time as he rejoins those still fighting for the king. Now Elizabeth is faced with a choice. Should she marry a man she does not love for the sake of comfort, or wait for Rupert to return?

Author Biography

Anne Herries was born in Swindon and grew up in Ely and now lives in Cambridge. She started writing in 1976, combining this with helping her husband to run his antique shop. Under various names, including Linda Sole, she has had more than forty novels published.