Nearly killed while trying to win back his ancestral home, Black Richard MacCullough is left scarred and mangled; but some scars run far deeper than mere skin. No longer the handsome devil or kind man of his youth, now he focuses solely on rebuilding everything that was lost to the brutal Chisolms and traitorous MacRays. Revenge -- while not nearly as important as keeping his clan from starving – is the only thing that keeps his bruised heart beating. With his clan on the brink of starvation and annihilation, Black Richard doesn’t believe his life could get worse. Until King David II decides to put an end to the border wars himself, via a marriage between Black Richard and Aeschene MacRay, the daughter of his sworn enemy.