A diamond of London's glittering ballrooms must travel to the ends of the earth to find love... It's 1825, and Lady Lydia Howick has accepted that the love of her life, Royal Marine Captain George Neville, has been killed in action with the Men of the Squadron in fierce fighting on West African Sherbro Island. She's moved on with her life until one day while at a Royal Academy exhibition of art from the Holy Land, she sees her supposedly dead lover in a group of figures painted in a desert caravan scene. She can't rest until she's sure he's not suffering as a slave in the Middle East. George Neville no longer considers himself worthy of the title of Royal Marine ever since being taken captive during an action against slavers. Once his captors realized his strength and abilities in battle, they forced him to be one of them, promising his eventual freedom if he helped enslave others. They held the threat of punishment of child slaves over his head if he did not obey orders. After four horrific years in the slave trade, he's certain he's unworthy of anyone's love, let alone that of Lady Lydia. He refuses to sully her with the weight of his sins. How can she forgive him? More importantly, how can he forgive himself?