Ismay Deagan has one wish in the world – to leave Ireland and join her brother, Bram, in Australia. But her father has other ideas and orders her to marry their vicious neighbour Rory Flynn, even though she can’t stand him.

After Rory brutally attacks her, Ismay runs away, disguising herself as an impoverished young widow. When she meets Adam Tregear on the ship, she finally starts to believe her dreams of future happiness may come true.

Before she reaches Australia, however, she’s flung into adventures in Suez, Ceylon and Singapore. Dare she tell Adam the truth about who she really is? Does he have secrets of his own? Or will her past catch up with her and ruin her new-found happiness?