An unexpected seduction...Catherine Linwood is amongst the favored of Tudor Queen Mary-until her physician father dies mysteriously. She's distraught, shunned and desperate for answers. Catherine's only ally is Sir Brandon FitzAlan... who is willing to risk his life to protect hers. While the handsome stranger's courage and wit soon capture her heart, his true allegiance and purpose is uncertain.Brand is well used to the lies and shadows of court. Yet nothing prepares him for his sizzling attraction to innocent Catherine, or the deadly plot she is tangled in, for her father took a secret to his grave that could tear Catholic England apart. With one chance at salvation, Brand and Catherine begin a cross-country journey that reveals the shocking truth... and a burning passion that could save or destroy them both.