In 1725, a secret convent has been established on the Aberdeenshire coast.

Jory Mackintosh is more excited by healing herbs than husbands or holy prayers. She craves freedom-and a chance to sneak into medical school. Instead, on the eve of her escape, she becomes an unwilling pawn in her family's schemes with a rival clan.

Finlay Shaw, the disgraced younger brother of the laird, has spent ten long years atoning for his past failures, but nothing can wash away the stain of fratricide. When the clans order him to escort Jory to her new life as a nun, thus securing an alliance with the freshly formed Black Watch, it's his last chance for redemption. Too bad for Finn, Jory has no intention of following orders.

Trapped on the road together, often with only one bed between them, the two butt heads and match wits, forced to acknowledge the dark shadows that have haunted them both for years. Can they learn to trust each other, and themselves, to fly in the face of their families' wishes, or will they choose the solitary futures they always believed they deserve in this unorthodox runaway bride story?