Set in seventeenth century England against a backdrop of civil war, witch hunts and religious upheaval, this historical romance tells the story of Anne Somerton, a respected noblewoman with a passion she dare not admit and a secret she must never confess. At the age of eleven, Anne's friendship with a village wise woman causes her to be examined by the witch finders, an experience that leaves her with deep emotional scars, not least guilt when her mentor is put to death. Soon after, her father comes into money and she marries into the aristocracy, but her husband is thirty years her senior and they have little in common. When he leaves to fight for King Charles, she is left to run the family estate. Soon the country is ravaged by war and Anne turns to her old mentor's skills for guidance. Enemy forces surround her home and she is trapped along with her household and two dangerous clergymen. Every day her affiliation to the dark arts grows closer to discovery, but it is not until a wounded Parliamentary officer comes into her care that the scene is finally set for her denouement."