Miss Alison Clearwell was a properly brought up young beauty -- but now she was far from home and close to scandal.

On her way to her uncle in distant Russia, she was fair game for the dashing and determined Prince Nikolai, who had never met a woman he could not win. The only person to whom she could turn was Francis Buckingham, the fiance of her dearest friend, and the most handsome lord in England.

Buckingham offered her safe haven from Nikolai's campaign of conquest, but at a price. That price was high and kept getting higher. It began with risking her good name ... then her virtue ... then her heart....