When fearless knight William FitzAlan kills a traitor, and then receives the man’s castle and widow as reward, he’s ready to enjoy what now rightfully belongs to him.  However, William never imagined that the beautiful widow, Catherine Rayburn, would open her home to him, but close her heart.  He also couldn’t have predicted that her beauty would cause every man to burn with desire for her.  Though shrewd and knowledgeable on the battlefield, William remains clueless about how to handle his headstrong wife.

Having been burdened with an earlier arranged marriage to an abusive husband, Catherine was more than willing to report his traitorous behavior to her friend Prince Harry.  Outraged that she was forced into yet another marriage, she accepts her handsome new husband when he displays kindness toward her young son, but withdraws her affection when he exhibits jealousy and distrust—especially regarding her faithfulness. Aided by the Prince and a few other friends in powerful places, Catherine is forced to take matters into her own hands to ensure her safety, and that of her son, when William disappoints her again and again.

In her first historical romance novel, Margaret Mallory presents an entertaining story of the Welsh rebellion of six hundred years ago.  Although the main characters have their irritating traits—Catherine angers too easily and William is too possessive—they are generally likeable.  They have a series of misunderstandings that could be remedied by open communication, but instead they argue, make love, and apologize to each other without dealing with the real issues, which can be frustrating at times for the reader.  Brief love scenes punctuate the story, which is filled with interesting historical people, places, and information (most of which is factual, although the author claims that some personal traits of historical figures came from her imagination) about a turbulent time in England’s past.