Caroline Montmorency, ten years an assumed widow, is on the verge of having her sea-faring husband declared legally dead. While the country is embroiled in a maritime war with England, all she wants is to wed her longtime friend, Paul Douglas, and begin life anew. But those plans are broken when her husband unexpectedly returns.

Captain Adam Montmorency is an adventurer, privateer and general ne'er-do-well-at least, he was. He's come back to Maine with his memories of how he treated his wife missing. After guarding his emotions during endless days of British torture, he'd like to repair relations with Caroline and gain acceptance for the man he is now-reformed and ready for domestication.

Paul has loved Caroline for years but waited to declare himself out of deference to Adam's memory. She's promised him her hand, but he's faced with the loss of his lady to Adam, so he does whatever it takes to win-even if it means betraying his best friend to the British.

While Caroline has mixed feelings about having Adam back in her life and bed, she won't give up Paul. Before any of them can grasp a happy ending, they'll have to survive a fight with the British and muddle through the aftermath of Paul's deception.