Freed from debtor's prison by a nobleman who asked only a marriage of convenience in return, Sara journeys to the Cornish coast to assume her role as Baroness. When she arrives at Ravencliff Manor, her new husband, Nicholas Walraven, is unfailingly polite, even kind, but he is also dark and brooding. Some hidden agony keeps them from crossing the space between them to act on the attraction they share.

Sara's only true friend in the dark mansion is Nero, the huge dog who keeps watch over her and rescues her time and again. After Nero attacks and bites an evil man who would have attacked Sara, a second dog, a killer hound, begins stalking the grounds. This new development and the danger to Sara force Nicholas to tell her the dark secret that makes him fear to have a child ever.

This is a marvelous novel. Granted, it is fairly simple to figure out Nicholas' secret. Nonetheless, the impossible love theme combined with a chilling, eerie old house as the setting makes for an old fashioned, gothic thrilling romance.