Having lost her virginity to a smooth-talking man who betrayed her, Annie Ferguson vows never to make that mistake again. She is educated and perfectly capable of making her own way, even in 1817 Glasgow. Niall MacDonald has no intentions of letting the parson slip a noose around his neck any time soon. There are too many lasses to woo first. Yet, when the women s club Annie has joined gets attacked on the street, he decides to become their protector. Strangely, the more Annie insists she needs no protection, the more he is drawn to provide it. She is determined to slip away from him at every opportunity, but she slips away one time too often.