Bertrice Small was born in New York to a producer’s family. She graduated from Western College and a school for executive secretaries. She worked as a secretary and as a manager’s assistant; since 1969 she has been a professional writer. Bertrice Small is one of the “queens” of the women’s romance novel.
For a long time, the young Desire resisted the manly charm of Morgan Trenchard—a formidable highway robber. The young couple fell in love and carried that love through forced separation, prison cells, and the chaos of a London fire. The events described in the novel take place in England during the reign of King Charles II Stuart.