To survive, she must thaw a heart frozen at the bottom of a loch...

Fillan, the new Laird of the MacMoir clan, stands alone. Distrusted by his people and plotted against by the elders, his only hope lies in forging an alliance through marriage with the powerful Douglas clan. But his intended bride, Cairis Douglas, has vowed never to wed.

Haunted by her sister-in-law's disastrous marriage, Cairis refuses to become another casualty of a loveless union. When her father insists she marry an enemy to secure peace, duty clashes with desire. Yet, when Fillan proposes a daring ruse—a fake betrothal to deceive the elders—they set a dangerous game in motion.

But deceit turns deadly when an attack forces them into hiding. Bound together, they must navigate treacherous landscapes and unravel a web of betrayal. With Fillan's crippling fear of water slowing their escape, every loch they circumvent brings them closer to danger.

As a relentless snowstorm engulfs them, the line between pretense and passion blurs. Will the icy wilderness quench the flames sparking between them, or will their growing desire burn brighter than ever?

In the depths of winter, can two wary hearts ignite a love powerful enough to save their clans—and themselves?