Dark Torment

Sarah Markham is aboard a ship bound for Australia when she sees a convict tied to the mast, about to be flogged by the captain. She throws herself between the prisoner and the whip. Her father warns her that she will soon regret the day.

The convict is Dominic Gallagher, a young Irish rebel transported for crimes against the Crown and branded a troublemaker. He is handsome and grim, with a look that is dark, deliberate and dangerous. Sarah is independent and strong-willed, and she cannot stand by while a man is flogged to death.

She persuades her father to buy Dominic's indenture and take him to the family ranch. In that rugged, untamed country, a forbidden attraction grows between the servant and his mistress.

The novel is a historical romance set in colonial Australia, with betrayal and intrigue running through the love story. Dominic stands to lose everything if he fights for his freedom, and Sarah risks everything by choosing him. Whether their bond can survive the gap in their positions is the question that drives the book.