Masques of Gold

the long version

London's colorful marketplaces proclaimed the city's splendor and wealth--a golden prize disputed between King John's devouring greed...and the warrior barons who challenged his throne. From the flames of the bitter struggle came the men and women who dared to forge their own unique destinies... Lissa de Flael Willful, bold and beautiful, she as a burgher's daughter, married and widowed in a nobleman's cynical conspiracy of power. Yet her independent heart remained untouched--until one man fired her senses in a single glorious night of desire... Sir Justin FitzAilwin Wellborn and feared, the warden of London's peace in a ruthless age of war, he waged a desperate private struggle for Lissa's love--his life, his hope, his destiny. Their joining was a shining, embattled alliance, menaced by an unseen enemy, yet fated by the passion that stirred deep within their souls.