Rhys ap Rhodri is not a warrior, unlike his father. He believes in negotiation, diplomacy. When his rebellious twin brothers are captured and sentenced to be hanged by the Earl of Warwick, Rhys arranges a betrothal that will save his brothers and secure him a wife. 

Annalise de Vymont is the daughter of an impoverished and disgraced Norman baron. She has always dreamed of marrying a handsome chivalrous knight—not a Welsh barbarian set to drag her off to his isolated castle. To Rhys ap Rhodri she was a means to an end, a business transaction he’d been obliged to enter into for the sake of his brothers and the need to produce heirs.