Maria wants nothing to do with the new judge in town. She has enough trouble managing the peculiar disturbances at her tavern, and the last thing she needs is an unwelcome attraction to the man known as 'The Emperor's Devil.' He's an icy-eyed demon, the gossips say, with a heart colder than the peaks of Mount Olympus in winter.

Exiled from Constantinople, Basil will do anything to return to the emperor's good graces, even if it means keeping the peace in the middle of nowhere. The last thing he needs is for his men to rouse the wrath of the beautiful spitfire who runs the local tavern ? and the ire of the whole town along with her.

But when Maria's inn is sabotaged and her uncle dies under suspicious circumstances, she and Basil are drawn together to solve a murder and root out corruption. With their livelihoods ? and their lives ? at risk, Maria and Basil must learn to trust one another. In the process, they both might have to give up the one thing they can't stand to lose: their hearts.