Book excerpt: Anne Maclean is a highlander’s daughter: born of a proud clan—and, like her aunt and uncle, a brave and loyal spy for the King of Scotland. The Maclean clan has many enemies, but none so vicious and determined to kill them all as Col Pearce, a King’s soldier who saw his career crumble by ill health after being wounded by Mairead Hay, Anne’s cousin. Col has vowed revenge, and does not hesitate when he gets his chance to kill Anne’s partner Hew and take her captive. But while Col Pearce has been following Anne, he himself is under scrutiny for his cruelty not only to Scottish clans but the English as well. The King of England has tasked Wade Harland with finding Col and taking care of the problem… but Wade has also heard whispers of Col’s vendetta against the Hay and Maclean clans. When Wade and his partner Robin find Hew’s body and evidence that he has taken a woman, they set out to find Col and rescue her. For Wade is convinced that the woman is Mairead Hay, a Scottish spy to whom he owes his life. When he finds that the woman is not dark-haired, level-headed Mairead, but a flame-haired Scottish spitfire who hates the English with a passion, he has to work hard to make her trust him. Worse, he knows that Col has vowed to kill them both. Wade and Anne find themselves not only fighting for their lives, but also fighting their feelings for each other… and denying a love that can never be. An English Lion and a Scottish spy… their relationship is surely doomed.