Celina Vallier is engaged, thanks to her father's arrangement to run her life. She does not love her betrothed, and when she meets his enemy, The Count de Lérida, she is immediately attracted to the one thing she knows she should not covet.

She learns that he has been engaged to a duel with her brother, and she goes to meet with the count to try to convince him not to kill her brother. The count is intrigued by her devotion to her brother, and he strikes a bargain with her: he will not kill her brother if she will give herself to him. Desperate, she agrees.

By the time the duel rolls around, the count has reconsidered her offer, but she stands firm by her word and goes to him to pay her debt.

I especially liked the involvement of Celina's family, even though they were far from perfect, from her brother to her father, and on to an uncle. It made them seem like real people, not some isolated heroine.

Highly recommended.