Alexander Sinclair, Fourth Earl of Falmouth, has a reputation for rebelling in vice. Wine, women, and gambling are only one side of this dangerous man, for the earl has a second life, leading a criminal gang, smuggling contraband between France and Cornwall. Seeking ever more risk, Alexander often leads his men on their nighttime missions. One unlucky night the revenue men appear, and the smugglers sail into a violent storm in an effort to escape, but the ship and all aboard go down.

As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a monthlong holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.

Lord Percy Nibley needs a wife, preferably before his mother’s nagging on the subject drives him to distraction....In desperation, the shy nobleman enlists the help of Baron Marchmain - Lord August Bright...August selects a suitable young lady for Lord Nibley; Miss Patience Pearson, a cool, level-headed woman, close to being on the shelf and with the reputation of a blue-stocking, meanwhile setting his own sights on capturing the heart of her vivacious younger sister, Caroline.

Dishonoured and ashamed, the ton's scandalous darling, "Beau" the Marquess of Beaumont, is forced to flee England to escape debtor's prison. After a chance encounter, it appears Miss Millicent Sparrow is his only remaining friend, however unlikely...when his father dies suddenly and Beau inherits the Dukedom...he finds a woman in despair and, moved by pity, he offers her the protection of his name by marriage. But Milly becomes impossible to overlook, and the more Beau needs his wife, the less interested she seems in her gorgeous husband.

1815 - Along the wild and untamed coast of Cornwall, smuggling is not only a way of life but a means of survival. Henrietta Morton knows well to look the other way when the free trading 'gentlemen' are at work. Yet when a notorious pirate, known as The Rogue, bursts in on her in the village shop, she takes things one step further. Bewitched by a pair of wicked blue eyes, in a moment of insanity she hides the handsome fugitive from the local militia. Her reward is a kiss that she just cannot forget. But in his haste to escape with his life, her pirate drops a letter.

Dreams of love are all well and good, but all Prunella Chuffington-Smythe wants is to publish her novel. Marriage at the price of her independence is something she will not consider...Robert Adolphus, The Duke of Bedwin, is in no hurry to marry, he’s done it once and repeating that disaster is the last thing he desires...Surely showing the man she’s not actually the meek little wallflower he is looking for should be enough to put paid to his intentions? When Prue is dared by her friends to do something drastic, it seems the perfect opportunity to kill two birds.

Lucretia ‘Crecy’ Holbrook has a secret, a secret she has kept for many years. Even her dearest confidant and sister, Belle, would not understand what Crecy is prepared to do, the risks she is prepared to take, to get her heart’s desire. For Crecy is not like the other smiling débutantes; she despises poetry, thinks dancing a chore, and is quite prepared to throw something at the next fool to compare her to Aphrodite. Far more likely to return from a country walk with a badger’s skull and some bloody, injured creature than a posy of wildflowers, Crecy is drawn to the dark, the damaged, and the unlovable. Her heart longs for one man alone, one with a wounded soul, one so dreadfully damaged that even her tender care might not be enough to save him.

When the beautiful Lady Isabella Scranford finds herself in the family way and her lover refuses to do the honorable thing, she knows her life is at an end. With a reputation for being a cold-hearted bitch, there will be no sympathy for her, only shame and ridicule. Finding that even her best - and only - friend refuses to be associated with her any longer, Isabella decides she cannot go on and makes a fateful decision. When a filthy and frightening man rescues Isabella from drowning, she begins to believe her fate has taken an even darker turn. Yet appearances can be deceptive....

Blackmailed by his sister into giving a Christmas house party to celebrate her recent marriage, Edward Greyston, Marquess of Winterbourne, is quite certain the next few days will be an utter nightmare. Nightmares, however, are something Edward is all too familiar with. After the bloody battle of Waterloo, he has returned from the war a changed man, full of rage and guilt. Suspecting one of his house guests, the bluestocking Belinda Holbrook is about to trap unsuspecting and gullible Lord Nibley into marriage, he goes to warn him, only to get caught himself. 

Being dared to kiss a man in the moonlight is all well and good, but men and moonlight do not fall from the skies at will. Until they do. Under instruction from a friend, drab Alice Dowding lingers alone on a moonlit balcony. Not the most sensible course of action for a usually sensible girl. Yet, being sensible has gained Alice a seat among the wallflowers, and her only likely chance of marriage to a man she finds nigh on repulsive. Something must be done.

Miss Katherine Danvers has always been a wallflower. But now with her family on the brink of financial ruin, she finds herself a desperate wallflower. To save her family, she'll do anything. Luckily, she has the perfect plan.... She'll impress the ton by simply announcing she is engaged to the reclusive and mysterious Duke of Thornton, Alexander Masters, and secure strong matches for her sisters. No one has heard from the duke in years. Surely he'll never find out before her sisters' weddings and she can go back to her own quiet life.  

Alone and far from home in the big city, Violette is on a mission to find a missing man, a war hero who never made it home, and she doesn't want a chaperone. Though she refuses to reveal who she is, or what the man means to her, the chivalrous Aubrey Russell doesn't care. Accidentally thrust into the headstrong young lady's path, he decides she needs a protector. Determined that the girl should not ruin herself in pursuit of the truth, Aubrey dogs her every step... and finds himself in a spot of bother.

Targeted by the enemies of a friend, roguish Phillip Wilkes, the Earl of Kent, is nearly killed in a violent attack. Beaten and left for dead, he is rescued and nursed back to health by a beautiful angel that he's convinced exists only in his dreams. When he recovers and learns his heart was burning for none other than the sister of his closest friend, he knows she is forbidden to him. He runs away from the only woman who has ever shown him true kindness because who could ever learn to love a broken man? 

Benedict Rutland - the darkly handsome earl of Rothay - gained his title too young. His youth was spent clawing back the family fortunes. Now a man in his prime and financially secure, he is betrothed to a strict, sensible, and coolheaded woman who will never upset the balance of his life or disturb his emotions....  But then Miss Skeffington-Fox arrives. And as family members in line for the dukedom begin to die at an alarming rate, all fingers point at Benedict, and Miss Skeffington-Fox may be the only one who can save him.  

Brianna Penderley has a knack for getting into precarious situations, especially when it comes to her love for archaeology. In the heart of Naples, her terrible Italian has her accidentally becoming engaged to two men at the same time. Of course, Daniel Wolcott - the Earl of Thornton and the only man ever able to vex her - shows up to rescue her.