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Loosely inspired by a true story, the harrowing tale of a commoner who marries a prince but soon discovers that what she thought was her fairy-tale ending is actually her worst nightmare-and no matter how many times she tries to run away, her new life is one she'll never be permitted to escape.

Olympic track star Caroline Muller is on top of the world: she's just won a gold medal and set the record in the women's marathon. But it's while she's training for her next race that it all falls apart-a devastating injury ends her running career for good. Then, while convalescing at a remote health center, she forges an unexpected bond with a handsome young man who's also recovering from a grave injury. Sheltered young Caroline, who grew up on a remote farm in South Africa and who dropped out of school after eighth grade to focus on her running, has no idea that she's just met the Crown Prince of Lucomo, a tiny but wealthy principality on the Mediterranean coastline. Soon Caroline will be propelled from her modest life into a world of unimaginable wealth, power, and glamour. But with power comes those who wish to abuse it, and Caroline soon learns that her new life is not the dream-come-true she'd thought it would be. And that her new husband is not who he seemed at first. But Caroline is an integral part of the royal family's plan for remaining in power, and they won't let her get away so easily…

Barbara Bourland's stunning new novel is both an emotionally nuanced coming-of-age tale about a sheltered young woman who falls in love with the wrong man-and pays a devastating price-and a clear-eyed and insightful contemporary meditation on authoritarian power, one that pulls back the curtain on the corruption, greed, and behind-the-scenes machinations perpetuated by wealthy elites around the world to maintain their grip on power.