Helena of the Nobility has long resigned herself to the control of her aunt Lady Irene, a woman for whom betrayal is commonplace. Having banished Helen's mother from Constantinople, Irene stalks the palace courtyard while Helena secretly plots her escape. Determined to dissolve any thoughts of a union between Helena and her son Philip, Irene is now intent on securing Helen's hand in marriage to a Muslim prince.
Helpless to elude the powerful Lysander family, Helena turns to one man she believes loves her enough to prevent her demise. But Philip Lysander is no match for the cunning temptations Irene plants in his path. Betrayed and heartbroken, Helena has no other choice but to turn to the rebel Tancred Redwan, a man in whose heart she fears and in whose honor she finds safety.
When war and treachery threaten to tear them apart, only his sword offers a way of escape-