In the fourth book of the Sons of Barons series, friends, family, and guests gather at Manoria, a country estate in Gloucestershire, the recently inherited home of Joel Stewart and his new wife, Jane. Lord and Lady Larrowford. Amongst the guests is Hugh Pritchett, the only one of his closeknit group of friends to have not found love. Not only that, but his long-cherished dream of being a professor at Cambridge has turned to ash in the wake of a tragedy. Also in attendance is Charlotte Richards. By all accounts, Charlotte is reliable, trustworthy, genial, and gracious. Her description of herself is 'tall and plain as milk.' She is not, she maintains, a lady that desirable men fall for, but is that reason enough to accept the wealthy distant cousin pursuing her?

Since being inhabited by the newest Lord and Lady Larrowford, Manoria has garnered a reputation of enchantment. In the snowy winter of 1821, amidst life altering changes, it does not disappoint.