Loyalty and integrity are the mainstays of Alice Carstairs' life as a governess in her cousin's household. Betrayed by her father, despised and humiliated by her employer, her life is bleak indeed until Captain Sir Edward Masterman descends on The Priory, determined to bring order and naval discipline to the ramshackle household.

Alice's admiration for the man governed by duty deepens into love, but hers is a hopeless case. Surely Edward could never marry a penniless nobody like herself? Napoleon's escape from Elba turns her life upside down in more ways than she ever could have imagined. Falsely accused of theft and destined for transportation to Botany Bay, only Edward can save her.

Even as armies mass on the fields of Waterloo, Edward and Alice have more immediate problems to face. Edward begins to wonder where his duty really lies. His first love is the sea, but now he has a home and family to look after. Can Alice hide her feelings for the one man she truly loves, or must she leave The Priory and its master for ever?