1811 – England
Rebecca Heywood thought marriage would make her happy, but that hope was destroyed by her husband’s infidelity. When he is murdered, everyone assumes it was at the hands of the angry husband of one of his paramours. Then rumors emerge of a pirate’s treasure buried somewhere on their estate, and she discovers a long-lost treasure map among her late husband’s grandfather’s papers. Could her husband have been murdered by treasure hunters?
Thomas Westbrook hoped for a quiet life in the country after the horrors of war. But when he hears a gunshot the day after his neighbor is murdered, he finds himself coming to the aid of the young widow. Falling for the widow of his back-stabbing former friend would be a grave mistake. But he feels drawn to the kind and beautiful Rebecca, and when her life is threatened, he realizes he would do anything to save her.
Rebecca can’t imagine marrying again after her husband’s many betrayals. She also can’t deny her feelings for Thomas Westbrook. But how can she ever trust men, attraction, or marriage again—the very things that ruined her happiness?
Rebecca and Thomas must find the treasure first, before the murderers and would-be thieves, even as their growing feelings for each other wage war against all their deepest fears.