Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide feature descriptions of child abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, gun violence, abduction, and sexism.

Bridget and Rhys are constantly faced with decisions about love and duty as their relationship escalates. Although there is an immediate attraction between the two characters, there is also an immediate understanding that a personal relationship between them is impossible. Not only would it prohibit Rhys from doing his job, but the resulting scandal could prevent Bridget from becoming queen. One of the first things that Rhys says to Bridget is “I do not become involved in my clients’ personal lives [...] This ensures my judgment remains uncompromised” (20). Given the genre of the novel, the firmness of this declaration foreshadows the inevitable fact that Rhys will find himself unable to adhere to his core principles where Bridget is concerned. In fact, he begins doing her favors for the sole purpose of making her happy, rather than just keeping her safe. The lines between love and duty become especially blurred in Costa Rica when the two become very involved in each other’s personal lives, learning about one another’s pasts and beginning a sexual relationship.