During a bloody Jacobite upheaval, two half-sisters are torn apart by their passion for the same man and bound together by their love for a child Carlotta, the love child of Priscilla Eversleigh and Jocelyn Frinton, grows up in the shadow of war during the reign of Queen Anne. Carlotta's personal struggle begins when she's abducted by the charismatic Jacobite leader Lord Hessenfield. During her time as his hostage, they fall into a passionate affair. When she's released, the pregnant Carlotta marries to save her daughter Clarissa's legitimacy, but plunges into reckless affairs with other men-including the man beloved by her half-sister, Damaris. As England and France vie for dominance, the destinies of Carlotta and Damaris play out on the world stage. Carlotta overlooks the shy Damaris, who forms a tender bond with Clarissa. Damaris's quiet strength will be put to the test when she must risk her own life to save Clarissa.