Layunie, blonde, beautiful and high spirited, is plucked from the whirl of society pleasures in Somerset when family debt forces her into a proposed marriage to restore the family fortune. Alas the groom to be is the repellent and aged Lord Trevoran. But on her way to Cornwall Jarren Polverne, a handsome and dashing free trader, bursts into her life and changes everything. This is a roller-coaster ride of a story as the lovers strive to be together despite the hate and murderous intent of the monstrous Lord Trevoran and his cold-hearted henchman, the excise man Ruskin Tripper. It is a tale oozing with adventure and passion set amongst the creeks and coves, the tiny villages and the grand halls, the 'free traders' and the hated revenue officers of Cornwall. Can Layunie and Jarren's love survive their many setbacks, and can they ever be truly together? What will the effect of a mysterious package brought to the great house by a stranger up the misty river Fal have on the present occupant of Trevoran Court?