Maili Craig finally has the London Season she has always wanted, but finds it is not what she dreamed. As the orphaned daughter of a country gentleman, she does not rank high enough for the ton’s gentlemen, and her forthright manner earns her criticism. At the last ball of the season, she meets a stranger, who claims to be her aunt and invites Maili to visit.

Hugh Dickerson, Duke of Cavenray has finally agreed to wed in order to provide an heir. However, he is none too interested in his mother’s choices and finds himself tempted by a beauty of lower birth. He flees to his country estate to forget the beauty and hide from his mother. Instead of respite, he finds his property is being used by smugglers, and the very beauty he wanted to forget is visiting her new relatives in the neighboring estate.

The unlikely pair is brought together by fate, but can they overcome their pride and see the other in a better light, and the possibilities before them, as danger threatens their very lives?