Asrindel has always wanted to marry for love, but as a prince of Sasalianis, he knew it wasn't terribly likely. Still, when his parents tell him that he's to be married to Pylec, a prince of Vendir, he's devastated. Vendir is a country as unlike Sasalianis as possible. Where Vendir is a martial, cold country, Sasalianis is warm and welcoming. And where Vendirans are violent and harsh, Sasalianisans are artists, with all that that entails.Nonetheless, as a prince of Sasalianis, Asrindel knows his duty, and so he enters into a marriage of shelter with Pylec. It's not what he hoped for, but he is determined to make it work. And, if he's very lucky, he'll be able to fall in love with the man that he's married to, though with every passing day that seems less and less likely.There's also the small, unimportant matter of someone trying to kill him. Asrindel has no idea why anyone would want to do that, but he isn't interested in dying, especially not when he still has his whole life ahead of him, and a marriage of hearts to try and achieve.