Ten years after the death of Emma Thorton, Maria Vittoria, daughter of Gilbert and Emma, accepts the invitation of her cousin Adam, Earl of Barrow, and visits Derseland. Vittoria feels happy because she will finally be able to leave the hated London boarding school where her mother had chosen for her to study and live, but her arrival at the castle of the Earls of Barrow will bring her several disappointments. Besides finding in her cousin Adam a greedy and cynical character, she will have to face the Earl's proud and stubborn son, Alexander. In vain the girl tries to establish a dialogue with the young man, and soon the tension that arises between the two causes the girl to leave the castle. New storm clouds loom on the horizon: not only does the reciprocated animosity towards Alexander turn into a feeling for both of them that is as different as it is impossible, but, to complicate matters, a new character, Tristan Abbott, the unacknowledged son of the man Vittoria believes to be her father, Gilbert Thorton, makes his appearance. Set in the background of one of England's most romantic eras, the vicissitudes of Vittoria, Alexander, and Adam intertwine their destinies in a tangle of secrets and painful truths, of revelations that will ineluctably affect their lives.