A Cherokee lieutenant, a colonel's daughter, and a desperate fight to protect both land and love. Sam Hicks may be the educated son of a Cherokee chief, but his command of multiple languages and diplomatic skills can't erase the prejudice he faces as a mixed-blood warrior. When he's tasked with guarding Colonel Moore's spirited daughter, Susanna, at a wilderness fort, he never expects to lose his heart to a woman he can never have. Susanna Moore dreams of making her own way on the frontier like her Cherokee stepmother. The last thing she wants is an arranged marriage to the fort's stuffy doctor-especially after she meets the noble and intelligent Sam Hicks. When she's captured by a turncoat warrior during a Creek uprising, Sam risks everything to save her. Their shared values and growing love give them hope-but with the Creek War raging and cultural pressures mounting, can a Cherokee lieutenant and a colonel's daughter overcome the loyalties and prejudices set against them?