London socialite and friend of King George IV, the Duke of Strathnarn enjoys his London life, so he is resentful when he inherits from his hated father the title and responsibilities of chieftain of the Clan McNarn. Arriving bitterly angry in the highland fiefdom he fled as a youth, he’s faced with a terrible dilemma. To free his young nephew and heir from the clutches of his clan’s mortal enemies, the Kilcraigs, he must marry Clola, the daughter of their fearsome chieftain. He complies with bad grace, but refuses even to look his young bride in the face, so certain that she will be coarse, uneducated, and unattractive. When a plot threatens the king, the duke finally realizes what he has in his new wife.