Beset by financial problems, Major Kelvin Ward, resigns his regiment in India and returns to England in the hope that his uncle, the Duke of Uxbridge, will provide the sums he needs to become a partner in shipping firm. When his uncle refuses, help comes from an unexpected stranger, with an even stranger condition attached to the transaction – that Kelvin must marry his wealthy daughter, immediately.

Torn between an arranged marriage to someone he has never met, and his need for money, Kelvin agrees to the marriage. However, frightened and shy, Seraphina is not what he expected. As they sail to India to meet his new business partners, the perils of the sea draw them closer together, but will his reliance on her money tear them apart?

From the bustling streets of the Indian capital to the beauty of the Lake Palace of Udaipur, how two strangers are brought together are all told in this vivid story of compassion, trust and the power of love.