Weilan Li

Eight years after Luke Hanson dies in prison for alleged treason, barbarians attack Darvon. Only then does the empress, Clara Winslow, remember the once-legendary general and personally visit his prison cell. When she orders him to lead the army once more, the guards tell her the truth that he has been dead for eight years. Refusing to believe it, Clara assumes he has escaped. She issues an ultimatum—he must return within three days, or she will execute his entire family.

Juliet York waits for the proposal Leon Reed has promised her for years, but it never comes. Instead, he asks to postpone their wedding so he can marry Queenie Smith as his secondary wife first. Heartbroken and disillusioned, Juliet gives up on him and agrees to a political marriage with Emmett Dunn before leaving for the frontier. By the time Leon realizes the gravity of his mistake, Juliet and Emmett have fallen in love and are preparing to marry.