Isola : a novel

France, 1531. Heir to a fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of prosperity and gentility. Then she is orphaned, and her guardian, an enigmatic and volatile man, spends her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to New France. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian's servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished and abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue.