To rescue her was to rescue his own soul.

On a cold Parisian night, Vicomte Aleksender de Lefèvre forges an everlasting bond with a broken girl during her darkest hour, saving her from a life of abuse and misery. Tormented by his own demons, he finds his first bit of solace in sheltering little Sofia Rose.

But when Aleksender is drawn away by the Franco-Prussian war, the seasons pass. And in that long year, his Sofia matures into a stunning young woman — a dancer with an understanding of devotion and redemption far beyond her age.

Alongside his closest friend, Aleksender returns home to find that "home" is gone, replaced by revolution, bloodshed, betrayal — and a love always out of reach. Scarred both inside and out, he's thrust into a world of sensuality and violence — a world in which all his hours have now grown dark, where only Sofia might bring an end to the winter in his heart.