As a child, Devlin Ware thought his family stood for all that was right and good in the world. They were kind, gracious, and shared the beauty of Ravenwood, their grand country estate, by hosting lavish parties for the entire countryside. But at 22, he discovered his whole world was an elaborate illusion, and when Devlin publicly called his family to account for it, he was exiled as a traitor. So be it. He enlisted in the fight against Napoleon and didn't look back for six years. But now his father is dead, the Ware family is broken, and as the heir he is being called home.

London 1818: Destitute, disillusioned, and desperate, Lady Rosalind Marlowe sets the tongues of Regency London wagging when she becomes the "Mayfair Thief". Targeting only those who had won large sums of money from her father, bleeding him dry and causing him to take his own life, she decides to teach them a lesson. She takes something valuable from each, leaving her calling card with a bible quote behind. On her last outing, she is caught red-handed.

Captain Charles Bassington of the 13th Light Dragoons is famed for his good luck, high spirits, and devil-may-care attitude. He escapes serious injury at Waterloo only to succumb to an inflammation of the lungs. When he returns home to recuperate, cracks begin to appear in his cheery façade. It is only when two eminently eligible bachelors appear to be vying for the hand of his childhood friend, Lady Selena Sheringham, that Charles realizes his heart’s desire. But how can the younger son of a baron ever hope to be worthy of the wealthy daughter of an earl?

Marianne has disconcertingly open manners and a liveliness that Miss Wolfraston deplores. When she visits her aunt in Cheltenham, these traits inevitably lead her into a series of scrapes. Lord Cranbourne has already been disappointed in love once and is in no hurry to find a bride. Annoyed at his sister’s matchmaking attempts, he accompanies his friend Sir Horace Bamber to Cheltenham. He expects to be heartily bored. Then, he meets Marianne. Both have lessons to learn; not least that no one is quite what they seem.

As a young woman, Leah Penn-Leith fell hopelessly in love with Captain Fox Carnegie—the only irrational mark on her decidedly sensible life. Fox, unfortunately, did not return her regard. Their story should have ended there—Fox left for India and Leah returned home to Scotland to rear her much younger brothers. Twenty years later, Fox appears on Leah's doorstep—older, scarred, and world-weary—proposing a marriage of convenience between them.