Nearly forty, Juniper works herself ragged to pay for her daughter's medical care. Then she catches her husband of 18 years shopping for fine silks with another woman, his mother, and a teenage boy. Heartbroken, she leaves and carries her sick daughter through the rain to seek help. A disguised emperor saves her daughter's life, and soon a marriage contract makes Juniper Empress. What begins as a marriage of convenience turns into true love when the cold emperor falls for her.