Nearly a spinster at twenty, Fortune Lindley is leaving Scotland to return to her birthplace at Maguire's Ford, a vast Ulster estate that she will inherit only if she marries an Irish Protestant. To that end, Fortune has agreed to consider a match with the Protestant aristocrat William Devers, a man suited to her wealth and status. But it is the rebellious and disinherited Catholic elder brother, Kiernan Devers, who steals her heart, driving William to a black and murderous fury. While Fortune and Kiernan's forbidden ecstasy explodes, jealousy and intolerance lead to an unthinkable tragedy - and a destiny that will test Fortune's will to survive in a struggle to claim a land, a legacy, and the only love she'll have. . .