Born from a family where daughters don’t survive until adulthood, frail Frida Harkbourne enters a political marriage with the feared war hero Duke Daniel Richards. Abandoned at the altar and left with a comatose husband, Frida gains unexpected freedom and quietly rebuilds his barren territory. Three years later, Daniel awakens to find a gentle, determined duchess who has transformed his lands through sheer will. As imperial intrigue, hidden enemies, and looming succession conflicts close in, a wary duke and a dying duchess begin a tense partnership that could change their lives… if only Frida can live long enough for it.