The year is 1871, and life at a remote lighthouse off the Georgia coast has become routine for Livvy Drummond. Then a wounded convict escapes from a passing prison ship and swims ashore. He threatens her and collapses at her feet. When Lieutenant Gabriel Hampton opens his eyes, he beholds an angel. An angel, moreover, who not only nurses him back to health, but senses the nobility beneath his rugged, feral appearance. Having escaped a life sentence, the result of an unjust court martial, he finds new life, and new love, in the hands of the lightkeeper's beautiful granddaughter. Springtime on the remote island is nearly idyllic for Livvy and Gabe until circumstances tear them apart. Although Livvy is determined to help Gabe escape his hopeless future, secrets from her childhood threaten to destroy what she and Gabe have built --secrets that tragically link her to Gabe in a way neither would ever have dreamed. Will they be able to find their way back to each other? Or will the Civil War claim another two victims?