In the final decade of the 1800s, spirited teenager Toni McGann is living a thoroughly modern American life with her family in Long Island.

From a stable, comfortable background, Toni has a bright future ahead of her.

Then she meets wealthy, cultured, Rafael, heir to a sugar plantation — and to a turbulent political future.

For Rafael is Cuban. As the young couple prepares to marry, Toni finds herself entranced by her fiancé's family, their lifestyle — and by their English friend, John Lisle.

Against her own instincts, Toni marries Rafael, not knowing that in doing so she has sealed her own fate, and her own role in Cuba's struggle against Spanish rule.

And as events unfold, it becomes clear that Rafael and his family are much more embroiled in political rebellion than Toni could ever have dreamed, and that as a result their lifestyle, their country — even their own lives — are at stake.

Far from living a life of luxury on their sugar plantation, Toni and her sister-in-law Christina are thrown headlong into a hellish world of combat and suffering. The women must draw upon all their bravery and ingenuity to survive and fight oppression, torture and the constant threat of destruction.

All around them, a vicious and blood-thirsty war in raging. Dare they even hope to come out of it alive?

And if they do — what then?

For Rafael's Cuban rebels, the brightest hope seems to lie in aid from America. But the Americans want no part of this foreign war.

So Rafael must entice them in.

But the results of Rafael's actions stretch far beyond his own plans, and as the American battleships finally approach the Cuban coast, Rafael's marriage, family and political ambitions may be as much at risk as the Spanish fleet.

Will Rafael achieve his dream of a free Cuba, or will he die in battle like so many of his colleagues?

Will Toni become mistress of the family's plantation, or will she too lose everything?

And what of Toni's brother, who is carefully plotting the American forces' destruction of the Spanish fleet?

In the end, it seems, the Wind of Destiny will decide.

Praise for Christopher Nicole:

‘A sensual, passion-packed saga!’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Sex and violence… fast-paced, entertaining, appealing!’ – Library Journal

Christopher Nicole was born and brought up in British Guyana and the West Indies. His output of books has been prolific and many of his novels are historical with a Caribbean background.