By edict of her Godmother, the Queen, lovely young Clotilda is shipped off to an obscure Balkan nation to marry its sexually depraved and sadistic reigning prince. Her reluctant escort is a dashing and devilish Marquis, loved by London Society’s ladies as much as he’s loathed by their jealous husbands. As his innocent young charge is attacked and then kidnapped by murderous brigands, he loses his heart – and the Marquis’s royal punishment becomes an all-consuming labour of love.