In the plague-ravaged town of Ryehaven, where each toll of the church bell heralds another death, Madeline, a commoner struggling to survive after her mother's passing, knows better than to dream beyond her station.
When Edwin Hale - the wealthy, enigmatic heir to the town's grandest estate - begins showing her unexpected kindness, Madeline finds herself caught between strict class divides and her growing connection with a man whose world should never have touched hers. Yet where the plague cares nothing for wealth or status, old certainties die as quickly as its victims.
Set against the atmospheric backdrop of a town in the grip of both winter and pestilence, this haunting historical romance novella explores what happens when the heart dares to want what society forbids.