A bid for freedom... The lush, misty island of Madeira seemed a perfect escape from an unwanted bridegroom for shy, bookish heiress Eliza Thoroughgood. Ambushed by desire... But barely have they arrived when she and her frail young cousin Aubrey find themselves captive on the exotic vessel of Cyprian Dare-a man whose bold hands and even bolder mouth arouse a tiny, wicked part of Eliza. An exquisite revenge... Cyprian never forgave the man who abandoned his mother and made him a bastard. Now that man's heir, the boy Aubrey, will be his instrument of revenge-however furiously the beautiful Eliza guards him. Foiled by an ecstatic love... For Cyprian, it will be an easy matter to tame this lovely innocent in the sweet, dark seaswept night...until Eliza's passionate heart challenges him to a choice he could never have foreseen.