Fairy tale dreams can turn to nightmares. The world seems upside down to Duchess Lucille when the man she loathes, her husband, the duke of Monovia, changes before her eyes. No one else appears to notice the nuances of difference.

Damien Sinclair is a force of nature, the beauty of a sunset over the ocean while capable of devastating hurricane-strength winds. At one time, he’d held my heart in his hands. That was until the day I walked away. I didn’t leave him because I didn’t love him. It was that loving him was too much, an all-encompassing affair. In his presence, I failed to exist.

Lena Montgomery’s time and energy is spent making her dreams of wealth and power a reality, no matter who she leaves in her wake. She’s taken risks, climbed the ladder, and doesn’t intend to take a step back. Her hardline is involving herself with employees, and the last thing on her mind is blurring the lines with a man 12 years her junior. As danger nears, it’s not her mind that wants to break her own rule; it’s her body. What happens when the lines are blurred?

Years ago, a fight for supremacy took place between the two most powerful families in New Orleans. The battle was set in the metaphoric octagon, with the spotlight blazing. The city sat in paralyzed fear, awaiting word of a victor. Abraham Rames versus Isaiah Boudreau. One man would emerge victorious and rule the city of sin. Neither understood that the devil was in the details. Neither lived to see the rising sun. I’m Everett Rames, son of Abraham, and I am the devil. I took my rightful place as king of New Orleans.

Since the day she married her husband, Lo Harper has watched her happy ever after slip away before her eyes. Feeling lost and alone, she’s stumbling through life, each day getting longer, harder, and more hopeless. She doesn’t know how much longer she can hold on. Until she meets a stranger who ironically becomes a lifeline after he nearly runs her down. He’s charming, kind, and he doesn’t pry. He’s just there, making Lo smile, distracting her, if only briefly. Because she will always return to the pain. To the heartbreak. To the unshakable guilt.