A family scandal has left artist Claire Poplar without friends, suitors, or means. Art is her only joy and respite, despite her talent being mocked by famed artist Caleb Gray. On an impulse, knowing there is no way back to the life she had before, Claire decides on her own path. A path that will see her wed, and no longer a financial burden and spinster poor relation. The wedding may be a business arrangement, but it will give Claire freedom and stability away from the prying eyes and censure of society. 

Lord Robert Dennington, the Marquess of Westfield, has long reveled in the freedom afforded him as the ducal heir. He knows he must someday do right by the Somerset line, but he's in no hurry to give up his carefree existence.Helena Banbury is a bookkeeper in a gentleman's gambling club, adept at analyzing numbers and accounts but helpless for lack of influence.

Lady Emmaline Fitzhugh, a hopeless romantic, is tired of sitting with the wallflowers, waiting for her betrothed to come to his senses and marry her. When Emmaline reads one too many reports of his scandalous liaisons in the gossip rags, she takes matters into her own hands.

A widow with a past...The last thing Victoria Barrett, the Viscountess Waters, has any interest in is romance. When the only man she's ever loved was killed, she endured an arranged marriage to a cruel man in order to survive. Now widowed, her only focus is on clearing her son's name from the charge of murder. That is until the love of her life returns from the grave. A leader of a once great agency...Nathaniel Archer, the Earl of Exeter head of the Crown's elite organization, The Brethren, is back on British soil.

Lieutenant Lucien Jones, son of a viscount, returned from war, to find his wife and child dead. Blaming his father for the commission that sent him off to fight Boney's forces, he was content to languish at London Hospital... until offered employment on the Marquess of Drake's staff. Through his position, Lucien found purpose in life and is content to keep his past buried.

For Georgina Wilcox, the only child of the notorious traitor known as "The Fox", there are too many secrets to count. However, after her interference results in great tragedy, she resolves to never help another...until she meets Adam Markham.

Kerr Gordon, next in line to be chief of the Gordon Clan, is tasked by Mary, Queen of Scots to bring to bring a gift to her cousin—and jailer—Queen Elizabeth of England. When he arrives at Whitehall Palace to find a courtly woman tied up in the stables, he acts to save her, only to be rebuked for dispatching an assassin before she could hear his confession. Queen Elizabeth calls Maggie Darby her sacrificial lamb: Maggie's job is to try on all of the queen's gowns and accessories before she wears them—just in case they're poisoned. 

Adair Thorne has just watched his gaming-hell dream disappear into a blaze of fire and ash, and he’s certain that his competitors, the Killorans, are behind it. His fury and passion burn even hotter when he meets Cleopatra Killoran, a tart-mouthed vixen who mocks him at every turn. If she were anyone else but the enemy, she’d ignite a desire in him that would be impossible to control. No one can make Cleopatra do anything. That said, she’ll do whatever it takes to protect her siblings—even if that means being sponsored by their rivals for a season in order to land a noble husband.

Entangled by their pasts, a rakehell lord and an outspoken lady find passion that flares in their present. Will they have a second chance at romance, or will the sins of the past keep them apart forever? 

Lady Myrtle McQuoid has always felt a little forgotten, and this season is no exception. When her boisterous family vacates their London townhouse for the country, Myrtle finds she’s been left behind. But she just needs to stay warm, keep her belly full, and distract herself until her relatives realize their mistake and turn back to collect her. Surely that won’t take long.