Unable to effect the changes he feels his country needs, Prince Maximilian leaves Mondorra to live the useful life he craves. But he cannot forget the haunted eyes of a ballerina he once met at a palace reception. Now working as a gardener at the Haven House Hotel, and calling himself Anton, he is astonished to see this very woman walking up the hotel’s stairs.

Lizzie has also never forgotten her encounter with the “sad man,” as she’s always called him. She is struggling to reclaim her former glory as a principal dancer after leaving her abusive partner, and this outreach program in rural Wales seems the very way forward. But what is the sad man doing here? And why won’t he tell her who he is?

The peaceful surroundings of the hotel lead them on the first tentative steps to love, but Anton’s secrets and the shadow of Lizzie’s former lover loom over them. When the truth is revealed, will Lizzie be able to make the leap, or will the swan princess refuse the crown of Mondorra forever?