A ring is her only tie to a distant homeland, until a marooned Englishman anchors her heart. Hannah Rose Barrington is the island misfit. Orphaned at a young age, Hannah struggles to provide for her future, while her guardian, a weak-hearted island drunk, bleeds Hannah of her father's inheritance. Caught between the classes of elite planters and white beggars, Hannah yearns to find a place to belong. University life has never been Bradlee Granville's forte. His only hope to graduate is to impress his professors by documenting his travels. After claiming unforeseeable circumstances, he delays his final exams and sets out early on his Grand Tour. However, when his ship wrecks off the coast of the Leeward Islands, Bradlee is left without means to return to England, a mounting deadline, and ruined journals.

When Hannah rescues passengers from a ship breaking apart in the bay, she's unexpectedly drawn to the witty charm of one of the men. Helping him settle into island life will be a pleasure. However, as creditors, like sharks, begin to circle and her guardian's desperation becomes life-threatening, Hannah finds herself in need of rescue. Will Bradlee look past her pitiful situation to see who she truly is-the sugar baron's daughter?.