When Kitty Farrell is offered a trinket by a street urchin, her impulsive response will change both of their lives forever, and place an unexpected strain on her marriage. For the past four years, she has sailed the high seas on the trading vessel Katipo with Rian, her wild Irish adventurer, but when they return to the Bay of Islands in 1845, they find themselves in the midst of a bloody affray. their loyalties and their love are sorely tested, and Kitty's past comes back to haunt her when she encounters the bewitching child she names Amber. As the action swirls around them, Kitty and Rian must battle to be reunited as they fight for their lives and watch friends and enemies alike succumb to the madness of war and the fatal seduction of hatred.