Six-year-old Clare Lamont is certain the horrid creatures will take her to their lair and she will never see her beloved family again. Rescued by the son of her father's enemy, Kason MacLachlan leads Clare safely back to her father's property. Now twelve years later, Kason becomes laird over the MacLachlan clan. Steffan Lamont fears the new MacLachlan laird. He has no warriors that can match MacLachlan's strength and cunning. His clan's only hope for survival is to unite with his ally, Joseph Colquhoun. His daughter is young and strong and can supply the man with sons. To Clare's dismay, she is instructed to go to Colquhoun as his new wife. With their marriage, the two clans will join forces against MacLachlan. On the wearisone trip into the Highlands, Clare becomes separated from her guard, left to wander lost and alone in the forest. To her terror, Clare stumbles into the camp of six of the fiercest looking warriors she's ever seen. The leader of the group is the substance nightmares are made of. Clare will never believe the heathen barbarian is the helpful boy who rescued her twelve years before. The vicious warrior was more akin to the goblins Clare once foolishly believed lived in the forest.