A young woman on the verge of
taking her vows to become a nun.
A desperate flight from a murderous massacre.
One honorable man comes to her rescue.
Another becomes her nemesis and captor.
And a life and death search to reunite with her one true love.
In 10th century Naples, Saracens run rampant, annihilating villages, murdering
women and children. Death and despair is everywhere. Alone in the world, Sara
is a young novice plagued with doubts about taking her final vows to become a
nun. When her convent is attacked, she flees for her life straight into the
arms of a group of Saracens who leave her to die alone in the woods. An
honorable cavaliere named Nicolo comes to her rescue and offers to take her to
the safety of Naples. As they journey together, they are irresistibly drawn to
each other. Believing Sara to be a nun, the honorable Nicolo is torn between
love and duty to respect her vows. Heartbroken, he does what honor demands and
sets her free before she can tell him the truth that she is not a nun. In her
search to reunite with Nicolo, she encounters Umberto, a dark and dangerous man
who will stop at nothing in his obsession to possess her. With her sharp
intellect, and her heart, Sara must rely on her own courage and strength to
escape her abuser and find the only man she will ever love. A story that burns
with intensity, intrigue, and passion from the author of the highly popular
novels, Orphan of the Olive Tree, The Contessa’s Vendetta, and The Betrothal.
Read an excerpt
Chapter One
Village
of Gaeta
North
of Naples
A.D.
915
THE MASSACRE CAUGHT the villagers of
Gaeta by surprise. In the convent of Santa
Maria delle Vergine, the first shrieks of the Saracen raiders as they raced
down the hillsides and into the outskirts of the village had forced the small
group of nuns from their beds. Some rushed to the chapel to face the enemy. The
others fled terrorized into the summer night. They were the lucky ones. That
desperate flight would save their lives.
Protected
by the hood of her mantle, Sara, a novice, the convent’s only inhabitant who
had not yet taken her vows, stood among the sisters clustered together on a
hill next to a grove of trees. She shivered against the fading night’s breeze.
A full moon and the first rays of dawn shed a scarce light over the valley
below. She gazed down at the village of Gaeta—a handful of buildings and homes,
a church, and their convent—a sprawling mass of land surrounded on three sides
by the sea. An eerie mist hung above it.
The
desolate tolling of the church bell suddenly rose on the wind.
Sara
watched in horror as Saracen warriors galloped through the village bellowing
their battle cries. A knot of terror jammed in her chest when she saw them
enter the convent. She held up a hand, a plea for the women to listen. The
church bell suddenly ceased ringing. Screams, shrieks, and moans leapt out of
the silence like sparks from a fire. Stunned, Sara could not tear her gaze
away. Saracen marauders attacked homes, broke down doors and windows, and
dragged villagers and nuns outside to meet their demise. The world was truly
desolate, without redemption. The villagers were people she knew, whom she had
toiled with and served. There had been no time to warn or save anyone. To each
his own. The Saracens were bent at slaughter.
2 comments:
I am loving the synopsis. This book is going on my TBR list.
I love the plot! And I'm happy to find a novel set in my beautiful Neaples!
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