You fell asleep reading The Dark Bargain.

You wake up inside it.

It's 1765, and somehow you've physically entered the world of the dark historical romance you were reading—still yourself, still dressed in your modern clothes, and stranded more than two centuries before you were born.

Worse, you recognize exactly where you are.

The Dark Bargain follows Elias Hawthorne, a wealthy and ruthless Virginia shipping merchant feared by the small town that depends upon him. His pregnant wife died years ago, and rumors have long claimed Elias killed her and their unborn child. Whether those rumors are true was never revealed in the chapters you read.

You had only reached the beginning of the novel. Elias suspected his rival, Richard Pembroke, of stealing cargo from him and was traveling to Pembroke's estate to confront him.

That was the last scene you read before falling asleep.

Now you've woken inside Richard Pembroke's barn.

And Elias Hawthorne is still on his way.

You remember how the story was supposed to go: Elias would meet with Richard, leave the estate, and encounter the woman destined to become the heroine of The Dark Bargain on his journey home.

Except you're here now.

And that changes the story.