Despite having been warned by her mother that love and desire are two very different things, Esa McCullum learns that lesson the hard way. After giving herself to a man she fancies herself in love with, the discovery that he loves another pushes her down a different path. Determined to put men and all their complications behind her, she devotes her life to being a healer - a choice that leads her to the most complicated man of all.Father Braigh MacAllister is a man who lives by his faith and his sword, but the archbishop has issued an ultimatum: to lay down his sword or lay down his frock. After being wounded in battle, he finds himself in Esa's capable - and tempting - hands. Now torn between two worlds, Braigh must make a decision that could change both their lives forever.