No man marries a prostitute. Born a slave, forced into ill-repute, Libya's one meaning in life is her young son, the child of a nobleman, Victor Ocelli. Then, one night, her master moves to sell the boy. A stranger rescues the boy by buying her and her child. Moved by her tears, Roman patrician Felix ""Wryn"" Paterculi purchases Libya and her son that night. Wryn is working to gain a higher military post to bring the force of the law against the criminal who tried to kill him and his familia seven years ago--Victor Ocelli. To gain such a post, Wryn must follow custom and marry an elite patrician girl, but he can't get the prostitute under his roof out of his head. Then Victor Ocelli re-enters Libya's life, offering her son freedom and a nobleman's life if she will betray Wryn. Will Libya place her trust in the father of her son or the master whose kindness never ceases to amaze her? What will Wryn sacrifice for love?