Russia, 1733 There is no joy in the Yuletide season for Ekaterina Romanova. As the empress's niece, she knows all too well the wickedness that lies behind the gilded facade of the Winter Court. But an intimate encounter with a handsome stranger offers her a few moments of escape, and awakens her to forbidden desires. Andrey Kvasov is stunned to learn that the beautiful peasant girl he almost made love to in the woods is really a princess. If their mutual passion is discovered, they will both be in grave danger—for the cruel empress has designs of her own on the young architect, and betrayal will be severely punished.