A brilliant achievement...vivid, accurate, dramatic...the description of Waterloo is magnificent.-DAILY MAIL

My favorite historical novelist.-MARGARET DRABBLE

IN THE SUMMER OF 1815, with Napolean Bonaparte marching down from the north, Brussels is a whirlwind of parties, balls and soirees. In the swirling social scene surrounding the Duke of Wellington and his noble aides de camp, no one attracts more attention than the beautiful, outrageous young widow Lady Barbara Childe. On their first meeting, dashing Colonel Charles Audley proposes to her, but even their betrothal doesn't calm her wild behavior. Finally, with the Battle of Waterloo raging just miles away, civilians fleeing and the wounded pouring back into the town, Lady Barbara discovers where her heart really lies, and like a true noblewoman, she rises to the occasion, and to the demands of love, life and war...

Wonderful characters, elegant, witty writing, perfect

period detail, and rapturously romantic. Georgette Heyer

achieves what the rest of us only aspire to.

-KATIE FFORDE

My favorite historical novelist.-Margaret Drabble

In Brussels in the Spring of 1815, the cream of British nobility and military await the arrival of the Duke of Wellington, who cobbles together a battle plan and a fighting force out of what he called an infamous army.

Wellington ultimately defeated Napoleon in a two-day battle that killed or wounded 47,000 men.

Amongst preparations for war and a whirl of parties, dashing Staff Officer Colonel Charles Audley falls in love with the flamboyant young widow Barbara Childe. Their betrothal falls apart, until the day the armies march out and Barbara discovers where her heart lies. She can do nothing but help the wounded making their way back to Brussels and pray for the safety of the one man who can set her free from her wild impulses.