Anatole lives on the steep crags of Cornwall, trapped in isolation by his legacy and powers. Surrounded by only a handful of servants and his dogs, he has never ventured far from the thick stone walls of his castle. Now, as part of timeless tradition, Anatole must turn to his former tutor and distant cousin, Septimus Fitzleger, also known as the Bride Finder, a man blessed with the power to find the one woman who is Anatole's destiny.
Madeline Breton is that chosen bride and has come to Cornwall to meet her new husband. I know you are all Anatole St. Leger could ever want, Septimus had told her. And sensible Madeline had begun to dream. But, now that she has reached her strange destination, the dream is diffusing quickly in the shadow of the dark and ominous Castle Leger. Her husband is hardly the gentleman she had envisioned. He looks more like a fierce Celtic warrior, one whose wild, ebony hair and brusque manner hint of stranger, mysterious gifts.
What unknown forces are at work at Castle Leger? Why do the servants and the villagers both respect and fear her husband? Anatole knows only too well the legacies that to him have been more curse than gift. But as Madeline embarks on an odyssey both otherworldly and undeniably real, she and her husband fall hopelessly in love - until she also sees the haunting vision of murder in the crystal of the St. Leger sword and vows never to let this dire portent come to pass. Then, into this hypnotic world, a sudden, terrifying enemy emerges to threaten both their lives.