Eight years ago, Lieutenant Luke Ripton made a hasty wartime marriage to protect a Spanish girl, Isabella, planning to leave her in a remote mountain convent and have the marriage annulled when she turned 21. When Luke, now Lord Ripton, learns that the church will not grant an annulment, he goes to Spain to collect his bride. But Isabella is not the meek, biddable convent bride he'd expected. While she's prepared to love and honour her husband, obeying him is quite another matter. Bold and loyal and full of the joy of life, Isabella stirs feelings in Luke he'd thought were long dead. Can Luke learn to deal with the bitter legacy of love and betrayal, and learn to love again? Isabella recognises a wounded soul when she sees one - can she risk her heart on this man a second time?