Torn from the protective community of American missionaries in China, young, innocent teenager Lydia Holt has no idea of the harsh realities she will soon face. Forced into a loveless marriage to a sadistic Chinese nobleman, Lydia escapes her cruel confines and flees to San Francisco, only to meet the man she once trusted with her life-a man who now threatens to destroy the cosmetics empire she has established and rules with an iron hand.
For in the secret corner of her heart, lovely Lydia harbors a dream-the unfulfilled promise of a passion that burned all too briefly for a handsome Scots trader with the blackest of souls. A man who tempted her with his fiery kisses, then left her broken-hearted and betrayed. A man who would one day learn that Lydia's love was far stronger than his lust...could she but find her way back into his arms again.
A thrilling historical romance filled with strong characters and the sweep of history.