The Scoundrel's Widow

Sylvia Hewitt is haunted by thoughts of her late husband, Daniel, who was killed overseas in the war with America years before-anxiety-filled memories of the man he was before he left, and wistful dreams of the better man she had hoped would return. This troubled web of emotions only tangles farther when Sylvia finds an injured man in her barn with Daniel's exact appearance.

This doppelganger claims to be Dougal Heywood, a friend of Daniel's from America, brought together by the bizarre coincidence of their uncanny resemblance. Through Sylvia's shock and her inability to turn away anyone in need, she agrees to take him in and care for his wounds. When dangerous men arrive looking for him, the obvious solution to both hide Dougal and explain his presence in Sylvia's home is to convince the town that Daniel Hewitt has indeed returned from America and has taken ill. But the obvious solution is far from simple.

Sylvia quickly becomes conflicted about this new addition to her household. Dougal is exactly the man Sylvia had hoped Daniel would become-charming, considerate, kind. In his presence, old grief she thought she had overcome surges back to the surface, battling with the new fondness that is slowly blossoming in her heart. Now Sylvia can't decide which would be worse: betraying her husband's memory by falling for a familiar stranger, or losing a possible second chance at love.