Benjamin Wetherby, Earl of Glastonbury and heir to the Marquessate of Eastleigh, has just received an urgent letter from home. His father is dying and he must return to England at once. Benjamin is a man bound by honor and duty, to both his country and his family. So, despite his reservations, he leaves his life in New York City behind so he may find a wife and assume his role as the Marquess of Eastleigh.

When Victoria Barclay, privileged daughter of the Viscount Grantham, has a life-altering experience as a young girl, it sets the course for the rest of her life. She is determined to make a difference in the world, no matter the consequence, and becomes a highwayman - or woman, as it were - robbing the rich and donating her pilfered gains to the poor. Life-long friend and neighbor, Phineas Dartwell, Earl of Leyburn, suspects his dear friend is up to no good. She's become evasive, and even worse, he cares that she's become evasive.

Lady Isabel Whitton has no use for people other than her twin sister - she much prefers the company of her books. So when she discovers that all her cousins from near and far have been summoned to her home, Danby Castle, for Christmas, she isn't pleased. To make matters even worse, the deplorable Mister Lockwell has come uninvited.

As the head of his family, Robert Beckford, the Earl of Masten, was accustomed to dealing with various problems his siblings had caused of one sort or another. However, he wasn't prepared when his cad of brother ruined and then abandoned a young lady. To right the wrong, Robert married the girl himself; but his chivalry only went so far. He didn't want a wife, and most certainly not a scandalous one. So, after repeating his vows, he sent her packing, off to a secluded estate and expected her to stay put.

For 11 years, Gillian Rutherford has dreamed of escaping her family's dark secret and living a normal life. Now, faced with an unwelcome marriage that will chain her to London and the secret slowly killing her, she's desperate to save herself and the sister she adores. Salvation comes in the form of an American shipping tycoon, and all she must do is seduce him into marrying her. But Gillian's scheme hits a snag when she makes a bargain with a notorious rake Alexander Trevelle, Lord Lionhurst.