Spain, 1809. Wounded at the Battle of Talavera de la Reina, Michael Rheese flees oncoming French forces - and when he seeks refuge at a grand hacienda, is forced into a barter: refuge for his men, in exchange for Michael's hand in marriage for Eva, the orphaned granddaughter of the chatelaine. But Eva and Michael's marriage is short-lived: just hours later, as they race for the English Channel, they run into the French. Michael is shot, dragged off. Dead. Six years later, Eva arrives in England, having discovered that Michael is still alive. Repeated letters draw no response from him, so she sets out on her own, a lonely and penurious woman, going to meet a man she does not really know. What will Eva find at the end of her journey? And will the compassionate Mr Denborough, who befriends her along the way, prove more a distraction than a friend? This is the first of the War Brides series, which follows the lives and loves of women married in times of strife.