The daughter of a violently unhappy marriage, Claire Lammond is resolved never to love or marry. For the sake of her ambitious brother, she breaks one resolution and marries Captain Justin Sumners, lately returned from the Peninsular War. Will she be able to fulfil her other resolution and keep her heart independent? Elizabeth Grant's first novel follows the fortunes of two strong, engaging characters in early nineteenth-century England. At its core are family ties - between son and father, children and parents, sisters and brothers, siblings and cousins - all tested and strained by the demands of politics, love, and duty.