Emmaline has spent the past year as the companion to the emperor's son, and knows she will soon be cast out for failing to produce a child. Though it should be a source of shame, all Emmaline feels is relief that she will finally be able to go home and resume the life she was forced to leave behind.

The emperor, however, has other plans. Instead of sending her home, he orders Emmaline across the sea to a foreign country she's only ever heard of, there to become the spouse of a woman who proves to be unexpectedly appealing. She is further charmed by the woman's young son, but just as Emmaline begins to settle happily into her new life as wife and mother secrets, fear, and violence threaten to tear it all apart...