Susan Johnson, award-winning author of nationally bestselling novels, lives in the country near North Branch, Minnesota. A former art historian, she considers the life of a writer the best of all possible worlds. Researching her novels takes her to past and distant places, and bringing characters to life allows her imagination full rein, while the creative process offers occasional fascinating glimpses into complicated machinery of the mind. But most important...writing stories is fun.

From the acclaimed mistress of the erotic historical romance comes this legendary novel of tempestuous passion . . .

Desperate to avoid a loathsome match, Zena Turku ran from the glittering ballroom into a snowy night-and threw herself on the mercy of a darkly handsome stranger. He was her only hope of escape, her one guarantee of safe passage to her home in the Caucasus Mountains. But Prince Alexander Kuzan mistook the alluring redhead for a lady of the evening, the perfect plaything to relieve the boredom of his country journey. Only after her exquisite innocence was revealed did the most notorious rake in St. Petersburg realize that his delicious game of seduction had turned into a conquest of his heart.

"[Susan Johnson] writes an extremely gripping story . . . with her knowledge of the period and her exquisite sensual scenes, she is an exceptional writer!"-Affaire de Coeur