Trained to be a lady—although fainting at will is not a skill she is proud of—gorgeous Galiana Montehue knows she will do her duty to her family and become the ornamental wife of a stranger. She is not as dismayed as one might expect, however, because she has become calloused by the hordes of men who have thrown themselves at her lovely feet. Her heart has hardened and she believes her beauty has become a curse. And then, wishing for an adventure, just one, before she settles down and marries for the benefit of her family, she takes a stroll in winter's first fall of snow.

Watching her younger twin brothers play, an out-of-control snowball leads Galiana into the forest, where she sees a knight drawing a sword on one of the twins. Without thought, she throws a rock and hits the knight on the back of the head, rendering him unconscious.

Taken prisoner by the knight's men, Galiana finds herself not only locked up in a stranger's manor, but forced to care for the incredibly handsome victim of her well-aimed throw. Then he wakes, and Galiana discovers he has been blinded.

Immune to the "curse" of Galiana's beauty, Wallis O'Rourke is fascinated instead by his "nurse's" gentle nature and wit. Although blind, he is convinced that when his headache subsides his sight will return. In the meantime, he must carefully guard the secrets he keeps. Not only is he a spy for King William, he's on a mission to find an ancient, magical stone, the Breath of Merlin. And he has also been charged to gain the hand in marriage of the stunning Galiana.

Amid lies, treachery, and ancient magic, will love be able to conquer Beauty's Curse?