English heiress Diana Mayo is living the life few women of her time could ever dream of. She's filthy rich, able to travel at will, and spoiled beyond measure. Tiring of the world of society and endless rounds of parties; she is looking for new worlds to conquer, many of which are closed to women who do not have her wealth and the power it brings her. Diana's voracious desire to travel and see the world lands her in Algiers in the winter of 1920. Here, she is preparing to travel out into the desert with a caravan; to see and experience the Algerian Desert in all its glory. At a party just before her excursion is to begin, she catches the attention of an intriguing man who is dressed in the European fashion, but is obviously a native of Algiers.

Although Diana has been warned off the journey by her brother and well-meaning friends, she is headstrong and stubborn; and determined to have her adventure. Soon after her desert trek begins, her caravan is attacked and Diana is taken captive. She realizes that her captor is the same man who she spied at the party. Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan has decided that he wants Diana, so he takes her; and spirits her away to his home in the desert. Diana resists the amorous attentions of the sheik; but when she realizes that nothing is going to save her, she is pragmatic enough to make the best of the situation.

Sheik Ahmed Ben Hassan is a man who has never been denied his desires, and has the strong will and ego that goes along with it. He is at turns tender with Diana and dominating, as he attempts to subdue Diana's will, and break her into submission to his desires. Between their spirited war of words and time spent together gazing at the stars and enjoying each other's company; a fragile relationship begins to develop. Diana starts to understand and appreciate the culture of Ahmed and his people. When Ahmed's good friend Raoul Saint Hubert comes to visit, Diana learns of Ahmed's past - things he has never told her or wanted her to know. Feeling that she can never be what Ahmed wants her to be, and that he will never love her as she desires; Diana resolves to leave him. When she is captured by a rival chieftain, however, Ahmed is forced to some hard realizations as to how he really feels about Diana.

THE SHEIK RETOLD is an intriguing update to the classic novel 'The Sheik'; a fascinating tale of two headstrong people and their bumpy road to an improbable love. Diana is strong-willed, passionate, and stubborn; and doesn't believe she is capable of love. Ahmed is a brooding, dominant man; the leader of his tribe who has a surprising past he wishes to deny at all costs. This enticing tale by Victoria Vane is a story of warring wills and cultures; action packed as well as incredibly sexy, and a recommended read.

Book Summary

A haughty young heiress for whom the world is a playground...
A savage son of the Sahara who knows no law but his own...
When pride and passion vie for supremacy...
Blistering desert days are nothing compared to sizzling Sahara nights...

"There will be inquiries." I choked out. "I am not such a nonentity that nothing will be done when I am missed. You will pay for what you have done."

"Pay?" His amused look sent a cold feeling of dread through me. "I have already paid... in gold that matches your hair, my gazelle. Besides," he continued, "the French Government has no jurisdiction over me. There is no authority here above my own."

My trepidation was growing every passing minute. "Why have you done this? Why brought me here?"

"Why?" He repeated with a slow and heated appraisal that made me acutely, almost painfully, conscious of my sex. "Bon Dieu! Are you not woman enough to know?"

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