An antiquarian for the National Museum, Christina Blackburn has her reasons for disguising her smoldering beauty with a pair of prim spectacles and an icy facade. She posed for a painting that scandalized the Victorian art world --- and it nearly ruined her life. Ever since, she has vowed to suppress her passionate nature and keep her identity a secret. But when the museum sends her on a trip across Scotland, Christina finds herself face-to-face with the same notorious painting --- and its dangerously handsome owner. Sir Aedan Arthur MacBride knows the local legend about the sleeping maiden, of course, but refuses to believe in such a curse. Then he gazes upon this very real maiden's face, and he knows he is utterly doomed .