Miss Elisabeth Elham is an unlikely heiress. She never knew the curmudgeonly uncle who died suddenly and left her a fortune. She's proud, outspoken, and independent - a definite challenge for London's fortune hunting suitors. As various determined gentlemen vie for her attention at balls, routs, picnics, and parties, Elisabeth finds herself embroiled with a charming rake, a mysterious nabob, and an elegant neighbor. This would all be great fun, if only she wasn't so fascinated by the one man in London who's not trying to woo her....

James Cantrell, the new duke of Tereford, has inherited a dukedom in disarray and is overwhelmed by his unaccustomed responsibilities. Then he gets an idea. Cecelia Vainsmede served as liaison between James and her father, and she knows a great deal about business matters, his own in particular. She's also quite pretty. Ever the pragmatist, he suggests a marriage of convenience.

Widower Benjamin Romilly, earl of Furness, lives a melancholy life. The loss of his wife in childbirth four years before has robbed him of all happiness. He can barely look at his son, who resembles his mother so strongly and is a constant reminder of her loss. But Jean Saunders, a relative of Benjamin's late wife, erupts into the grief-stricken household to restore order and take Benjamin's son away. From all Jean has heard, she assumes he won't care - but she doesn't know how wrong she is. As they come together to raise Geoffrey right, their budding attraction is undeniable.  

A scientifically minded noblemanLord Alan Gresham is the sixth son of the Duke of Langford and, as such, has been allowed to remain at Oxford to pursue his scientific studies. When the prince regent asks him to debunk the "ghost" of a dead actress haunting Carlton House, he cannot refuse, and is forced back to the Society he deplores. But upon meeting the daughter of the alleged ghost, his calm, logical investigation is disrupted. Learns the breathless chemistry of desire.

As the eldest son of the Duke of Langford, Nathaniel Gresham sees his arranged marriage to Lady Violet Devere as just another obligation to fulfil – highly suitable, if unexciting. But as Violet sets out to transform herself from dowdy wallflower to dazzling young duchess-to-be, proper Nathaniel sets out to prove he's a match for his new bride's vivacity and daring.