Emmaline Martin has gone to India to marry the man whom her parents have chosen. Their ship is destroyed at seeing leaving Emmaline the only survivor. This trauma has left Emmaline in a fragile emotional state. She is working to find her way through the rigid rules of British India when she meets Julian Sinclair. The Duke of Auburn is half English, half Indian and accepted by neither society.

Julian knows that the rebellion that is fomenting amongst the long repressed Indian people will result in the loss of thousands of lives. He tries to convince the British but is unsuccessful. Instead the only person he can save is Emmaline. He takes her into the deepest parts of India and leaves her with a friend where she is supposed to be safe. His promise to return convinces Emmaline to stay where she is.

When the rebellion reaches Emmaline, she works her way back to Delhi and from there to England. The horrors she endured on her journey are expressed in a series of horrific paintings. Her cousin convinces her to show the paintings and return to London for showing.

For three long years, Julian has lived a life of despair, thinking that Emmaline was dead. He learns of her survival just as he is about to marry another. At the same time, she considers that he abandoned her and lied to her about his return. Emmaline is afraid to trust Julian but as people start dying, she has no one else to turn to.

Julian and Emmaline will have to reconcile as they search to find the man who is killing to keep a secret.

THE DUKE OF SHADOWS is a dark and disturbing look at British society and their belief that they have the right to rule other lands. Ms. Duran has written a wonderfully compelling look into the lives of two people and the effect of violence and rebellion on them. Lots of angst and uusual locations, set the tone for the novel of passion, greed, and treachery.

Book Summary

In a debut romance as passionate and sweeping as the British Empire, Meredith Duran paints a powerful picture of an aristocrat torn between two worlds, an heiress who dares to risk everything...and the love born in fire and darkness that nearly destroys them.

From exotic sandstone palaces...

Sick of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to settle quietly into British Indian society. But when the pillars of privilege topple, her fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn for help to the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of Auburn.

To the marble halls of London...

In London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they call him a traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has never imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of a woman with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of terrible darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be perilous -- and that a single decision can alter one's life forever.

Destiny follows wherever you run.

A lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and Julian must finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to deny it, some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.