Leonora Cressy and her school friend Isobel, have sworn never to fall in love. They prefer their books to men and scorn other girls whose heads are full of storybook romance. Leonora is convinced that no man could be as perfect as her late father.

Little does she know that life has decided to put her conviction to the test. Her mother comes to tell her that she has a new stepfather and she does not like the sound of him at all. On the way home from school she has two fateful encounters – one with an arrogant gentleman in a carriage, and one with a suave but appealing foreigner, Señor de Guarda. These two will play prominent roles in the drama that is about to unfold.

Her stepfather is determined to marry her off to the mysterious Lord Merton, so she flees on a ship to Brazil to her friend Isobel. But on board she cannot flee her destiny.
Between the cool Mr. Chandos and the importunate Señor de Guarda her fate is sealed. How she must experience more than one kind of storm before she realises that there is no hiding from love is told in this exciting romance by BARBARA CARTLAND. Barbara Cartland was the world’s most prolific novelist who wrote an amazing 723 books in her lifetime, of which no less than 644 were romantic novels with worldwide sales of over 1 billion copies and her books were translated into 36 different languages. As well as romantic novels, she wrote historical biographies, 6 autobiographies, theatrical plays and books of advice on life, love, vitamins and cookery. She wrote her first book at the age of 21 and it was called Jigsaw. It became an immediate bestseller and sold 100,000 copies in hardback in England and all over Europe in translation. Between the ages of 77 and 97 she increased her output and wrote an incredible 400 romances as the demand for her romances was so strong all over the world. She wrote her last book at the age of 97 and it was entitled perhaps prophetically The Way to Heaven. Her books have always been immensely popular in the United States where in 1976 her current books were at numbers 1 & 2 in the B. Dalton bestsellers list, a feat never achieved before or since by any author. Barbara Cartland became a legend in her own lifetime and will be best remembered for her wonderful romantic novels so loved by her millions of readers throughout the world, who have always collected her books to read again and again, especially when they feel miserable or depressed. Her books will always be treasured for their moral message, her pure and innocent heroines, her handsome and dashing heroes, her blissful happy endings and above all for her belief that the power of love is more important than anything else in everyone’s life."