WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE. It is the year of Our Lord 1307, and by papal decree, Templar Knight Arucard de Villiers is a hunted man. One of a handful of mariners to escape the Inquisition and Philip the Fair's treachery, Arucard sets sail for England, where good King Edward II has outlawed torture. While the Crown is more than happy to offer exile and create a new Order to accommodate the famed warriors of the Crusades, such assistance comes with a price. But is the cost one Arucard is willing to pay? The world in which Isolde de Tyreswelle exists defines her as chattel. Nothing more than a means to an end, she is a puppet in her unscrupulous father's dastardly play and is thrown into the courtly arena. To further her family's political aspirations, she is betrothed to a man she has never met and, with her husband, must fight to survive the intrigues and betrayals of her new life. With good reason, she fears men. Can Isolde learn to trust Arucard before they are destroyed by their enemies?