Elara, from the northern lands, is handed over by her kin in a royal marriage arrangement. On the wedding day Crown Prince Kian bolts in public and leaves her humiliated. To pay for her mother's medical care, Elara holds her head high and keeps the engagement, refusing to take the blame for Kian's cowardice. Kael, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, sees her quiet strength and steps forward to wed her right then in place of his own son.
Elara slowly stops being a woman with no say in her fate. She learns to resist, to decide and to take responsibility. Standing beside Kael, she helps stop a plot hatched by the heir and his allies, and in doing so she earns a place in the realm's politics that no one planned for her.
