Charles de Lacey, Lord Gresham, has had his life turned upside down. Instead of inheriting his father’s ducal crown, he’s got a messy scandal that could strip him of his title and his fortune. After years of pleasure- seeking, he suddenly finds himself required to track down a blackmailer, discover the truth about his father’s first marriage, and defend his right to a dukedom from a grasping relation. But he has no idea where to start, until a tart-tongued beauty inadvertently leads him to the possible blackmailer.

Tessa Neville is a businesswoman, plain and simple. She gets off on the wrong foot with Lord Gresham, and then the blasted man follows her across England. He makes friends with her companion. He makes her laugh even when she wants to dislike him. And, worst of all, he somehow sees the darkest secrets of her heart in a way she never would have expected from a man of his wicked reputation. Tessa knows he’s the wrong sort of man for her. If only the thought of losing him didn’t make her heart break.