Free-spirited coastal nursery owner Rose has lived entirely unshackled her whole life: a sharp, bright wild beauty no coddled elite city suitor could ever corral. But when a vicious corporate takedown leaves her family bankrupt and her father hospitalized, notoriously ruthless tycoon Killian Hale swoops in to spirit her away to his secluded, heavily guarded mountain estate, bluntly declaring she has long belonged to him. Rose fights him at every turn: sneaking out to tend to the scraggly wild rose bushes along the property edge, sniping back at his every cold demand, refusing to let him clip her thorns to turn her into a tame, pampered society trophy. She soon uncovers the hidden truth: Killian never orchestrated her family’s downfall. He pulled her out and locked her away at the estate to shield her from dangerous criminals targeting her for a hidden inheritance tied to her late mother’s confidential life’s work.
