Breathing in the wild and musty scent, his grin grew. He moved slowly as if he were a lion hunting his prey to the only painting that had been placed amid the animals. He smiled, remembering the day he had an artist paint it based off a description. The frame was gold, holding a painting that was almost as tall as Lord Paris was. Inside was a painting of Isabella, her unique blond hair and blue eyes seeming exotic, captured by a gilded frame. The heavy frame held the image of Isabella hostage inside its extravagant borders. Paris reached a finger toward the painting, stopping a hairsbreadth from it. "Oh, Isabella, I will own you."

Isabella was nothing more than a commoner in a world where titles mean everything. She faces a chance to save everyone but has to win the biggest trial of her life, all the while not knowing a hunter stalks her in the dark and is willing to do anything claim her.

Isabella is the adoptive daughter of a bachelor bookseller. She grew up happy, always having the desire to travel but never leaving because of her devotion to her father. But that happy life is shattered when Lord Paris takes interest in her. Then a noblewoman comes to her shop with an offer she cannot refuse.

Now in a trial with more than just her fate on the line, she now has to traverse the dangers and intrigue of the palace as a piece in a game she knows nothing about. While trying to navigate the shadows of the palace, the lord is hunting her down and is willing to topple kingdoms if it meant getting Isabella back.