Augustus Noble is a man with secrets. His entire life has been built on half-truths, betrayals and lies-desperate measures to keep the woman he loves, Eleanor Trevilian-Noble, as his own. The patriarch of the Brethren, he has struggled for centuries to create an empire of wealth and prestige for her. Now all that he has fought for is in jeopardy-his grandson Brandon has risked it all in a desperate bid for independence and freedom. And just as Augustus can't allow Brandon to escape the ages-old traditions of the Brethren race, he also can't let the Brethren-and especially his longtime nemesis-discover a truth that, if revealed, would see them all killed. Eleanor's Brethren birthright should have insured a life of longevity, while her marriage to the ruling clan should have guaranteed one of unsurpassed privilege and luxury. But a disease which has secretly been ravaging the Brethren for generations now afflicts her as well. Her prognosis is grim, her life all but forfeit. For nearly two hundred years, she has loved Augustus Noble, a shared passion that defied even the most sacred of Brethren laws. By that love, he forced her to leave; to protect her, he broke her heart. Now she must return to the sprawling expanse of Kentucky farmland she once called home, back to the Brethren compound to save not only her grandson but Augustus, as well. Because if she doesn't-if she somehow should fail, then everything they know will be destroyed, including their love.