Synopsis

When the Marquis of Amberley’s coach is waylaid by highwayman and his coachman shot, he is forced to take shelter at the first house he finds and is subsequently trapped there by a severe snow-storm.
Oakleigh Manor is the home of Rosalind Vernon who lives alone but for her devoted servants and an ill-mannered parrot, cut off from the outside world by the tragic result of a childhood accident. But Rosalind is bright, brave and devoid of self-pity and it is these qualities which, as the snow continues to fall, touch Amberley’s heart.
But the course of Amberley’s courtship is far from smooth. Rosalind’s brother actively dislikes him; Rosalind appears to be falling under the spell of the suavely elegant Duke of Rockliffe; and worst of all, Amberley is haunted by a dark and terrible secret which, if revealed, may cause him to lose Rosalind forever.