In just one night, all of Amanda's dreams come true. The following day, they all fall apart.

A confession of long-held love to a childhood friend should have been the first day of a new life, but when he leaves for India without a word of goodbye, she's left heartbroken and abandoned.  

Amanda eventually concedes to her widowed mother's pleas that she marry to save their family from poverty and weds the wealthy Lord Meynel. She hopes for contentment, if not love, but soon realizes she has made a terrible mistake: though the perfect gentleman during their courtship, Meynel reveals himself to be a cruel and brutish.

With no options, no hope, and a war raging around her, Amanda is swallowed by her misery.

But could the revolution provide Amanda with the spark she needs to carry on? As the violence mounts, Amanda must reclaim her own life to protect those she loves.