Sophy Hadlow does not want to return for another London Season. Her own debut into Society was marred by self-consciousness and her cringing embarrassment every time she was announced as ‘The Lady Sophronia Hadlow’. Yet, much to her dismay, Sophy is back in London to oversee the debut of her younger sister and their wild cousin, Susan Tyneham, who risks ruining both her own and her innocent cousin’s chances of marriage.

Captain William Hawksmoor of the Royal Navy never expected to inherit Kingscastle and is none too pleased when he does so. Especially when he learns that he must marry within a year or be forever dealing with trustees. As the new marquis of Athelney, the captain takes command of Kingscastle and discovers much to be done to set it in order. He must also contend with his aunt Lady Willoughby Hawksmoor, who is determined that her daughter will be his wife.

After Lord Haverville forced Miss Kitty Gordon's dearest friend into a loveless marriage, she set her sights on the beastly Baron for revenge. Isolating his wife in rural solitude, Haverville continues to savor all the delights the city has to offer. Determined to force Haverville to give her friend back her freedom, Kitty hatches a plot to kidnap the Baron at gunpoint. But to her surprise, getting her hands on the handsome brute was actually the easy part - it's the temptation held in his arms that she never planned for.

Ellen Marling lives in terror of her wedding night to the beastly Baron Basil Brockhaven. Forced into the marriage by her father, a leap in the dark from the bedroom window seems more appealing than spending even one night with the loathsome lord. Until she discovers that her leap delivered her straight into the hands of the notorious Marquess of Trent, as handsome as he is hedonistic. Ellen has traded a monstrous husband for a masterly rake, and now faces the prospect of the greatest danger of all: falling in love.

Lucien de Clare is England's handomest and most brazen lord, a man whose scandalous behavior made the doors to polite society close against him. This makes him the perfect pawn in Kingsley's despicable plot to secure an heir. But the plot for a deceitful seduction of Elinor leads to true desire, as Lucien is overcome by Elinor's beauty and charm. Neither trecherous intrigue nor vengeful deeds can temper their desire for forbidden kisses, or dampen the fire that fuels their love.