She needs a husband to survive. He never means to love again.

August 1780. After the Battle of Camden leaves British camp follower Bess Eaton widowed, expecting a child, and stranded in enemy territory, she faces two impossible choices: a return to an England that offers her nothing...or marriage to a stranger before the army marches on without her.

Backcountry loyalist Rob MacFarlane has already buried a wife and son and has no intention of risking his heart again. But he can't ignore the vulnerable widow in his path. What begins as an act of duty quickly becomes something far more complicated when he offers Bess protection-and a name.

As war rages and the British cause begins to crumble, their fragile alliance is tested at every turn. Loyalties fracture. Faith is questioned. And the lines between enemy and neighbor blur. To survive, Rob must decide what allegiance truly costs-and Bess must choose whether she can trust not only the man she married...but the God she's never fully known.

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