Lewis Aubrey has grown up in the malignant shadow of his brother, Gideon. In London for the first time, with no thought of love, he is beguiled by Miss Anna Spain. Gideon steals her away, and then tosses her aside like a trampled rose. Months later, horrified to learn that Anna carries Gideon's child, Lewis tracks her down amid the grit of industrial Leeds. He's desperate to protect her—but can he survive marriage, believing she still yearns for his brother? Trusting and naïve, dreaming of a love that's glorious and timeless, Anna falls for Gideon Aubrey and his lies. When he casts her aside in the middle of a ball, Lewis shields her from gossip. He becomes her rock in a world of anguish, and she grows to love him very much indeed. But what kind of woman would condemn a man to a marriage he cannot possibly want, raising a child not his own? Somehow, these two tattered souls must escape Gideon's shadow and find their way to happiness, for the child's sake...and for their own.