Romantic historical fiction. Fast-paced action, historical immersion, characters who come alive on the page, witty dialogue, and a touch of mystery.

Miss Alita Stanton's presentation to society at the Queen's Ball in Buckingham Palace ends in ruination. While on the ballroom floor she is involuntarily possessed by a prophetic trance revealing the powerful Black Panther dying on a desultory foreign battlefield. Still dazed from the nightmarish scene, Alita recounts her experience and is outcasted on the most important day of her life, destroying her dreams and confirming her conviction that it is necessary to keep her true nature hidden.

Socially shunned, Alita travels to a fashionable foreign venue while wagging tongues find other prey. Once in Egypt, she meets the last person she wants to see: Valerius Huntington, the fifth earl of Ravensdale, the man of her dreams, and the Black Panther of her vision.

Lord Ravensdale, Captain of the Princess Royals' 7th Dragoon Guards, unknowingly kills an Egyptian friend in the Battle of Tel-El-Kebir, in the process creating two orphans. Captain Ravensdale helps win Egypt and the Suez Canal for Britain while simultaneously placing his life in the balance.

Alita is compelled to warn Lord Ravensdale of danger both physical and metaphysical. It is imperative that Valerius hear her message to procure his future--which will necessarily be the end to hers. The academic earl of Ravensdale and Princess Royals' captain will not marry a quack or a soothsayer.

Alita must choose between her happiness--and his.

Historical fiction with a shade of magical realism