The unconventional Lady Katherine McKenna has been granted a rare privilege: the right to choose her own husband. It's a more difficult task than she expected. When at last she agrees to a betrothal, it quickly goes awry, leaving Katherine alone in the wilds... and rescued by Laird Lachlan MacTavish. She's captivated by the proud, brooding chief who shows her such tender care. But with their clans on the brink of war, the honorable Lachlan resists his attraction--until Katherine proclaims to her family that they will wed. Though stunned by her boldness, Lachlan is intrigued by Katherine's beauty and spirit, and the MacTavishes will benefit from an alliance with the powerful McKennas. But with family discord, treachery, and deceit in their midst, can they save a marriage that is destined to blossom into incomparable love?