"They can have the crown, for all I care,"she said, smiling gently. "And what reason might that hold?" he asked, returning her smile. His face reflected the beautiful glow of the sun. "Well, for one, I seem to have higher aims," she said, her gaze low, not daring to meet his. "Oh, do tell me, my dear Princess, what could possibly be higher than the very crown of Islewood?" he asked, his voice held a note of mischief. His eyebrows raised, he took little steps towards her, she could feel her corset tightening around her, suffocating her. Preventing her from breathing and saying another word, but she wanted to say. She mustered all her courage and before she could change her mind, the words left her lips, "Your heart."

Emily Weatherly was no gently-bred London debutante. In fact, she had thrived on the streets of London, a pickpocket and urchin, until Fate threw her lot in with the Weatherly's, a prestigious family who unselfishly raised her as their own and protect her from a heinous secret that could destroy her life. Despite this, she is never truly accepted as a proper lady, always scorned and ridiculed, and she vows to do her adopted family proud by making a respectable match with a gentleman of some rank and notoriety. Sebastian Weatherly harbors a secret that could thwart his carefully constructed bachelorhood. Indiscriminate rake, scoundrel and downright rogue, he has had to endure Emily Weatherly's presence for as long as he could remember. Now that she intends to make a respectable match, which he knows cannot ever be him as he is not respectable, he can hardly ignore the bitter jealousy residing in his heart as he is forced to watch Emily courted by various beaus.

Sabine Winchester has always had a too sensible head on her shoulders. Her unsuccessful seasons in London result in her being called things like 'boring' and 'dull'. Her limited interests stem to her beloved horse, Puissant. But in arriving home, she encounters the new Scottish stable hand, Connor McKenzie, who is everything she's not - relaxed, spontaneous, outgoing and humorous. Batting heads with the new stable boy causes a lot of friction for Sabine, but the man who is so different to her, might just save her from herself.

James Alcott has always had a talent for charming women right into his bed, a talent that he has enjoyed, along with his status of being heir to the Earldom of Ethridge. A chance encounter, however, with a woman who does not see worth in wealth of status will change his life forever. Alice Devereaux has been hiding for three years. She fought and survived the 1832 French Revolution and is hiding in England under a pseudonym. Her family and friends all died as criminals and if she ever returned to her native Paris then she would be slaughtered too. Her family's hatred of aristocracy has been instilled in her and she carries around the burden of both her and her people's failure to create equality. And then, as if God is testing her, she meets a man who holds all the qualities she was born to hate - wealth, status and arrogance. But that man is determined to succeed in winning her. So what is she to do? Succumb to his charms? Or hold true to the beliefs of her French comrades?

Lady Imogen Wilde has lived her life in a body that does not work as it should. As she was born not breathing, Imogen has spent her life as the small and weak daughter of the Duke of Ascot. Nobody could ever understand, could they? Colonel Simon Spencer is a highly decorated, recently retired, soldier, who has made his fortune through various gallant and successful military campaigns. But the military has altered him, both mentally and physically, leaving him a changed man from the one his brother remembers, one who carries many burdens. But what if they met? Could it be, that after years of indifference, Imogen and Simon might finally find someone who understands? Or could there be other obstacles in their way, secrets that threaten to boil over?

Being clever in a time where women were taught to sit on their hands has always plagued Jane 'Little J' Alcott. She has always been laughed at and has learned to accept that she will never reach her full potential ... until now. When her brother thinks up a brilliant plan, Little J begins to stretch her legs in the world of academia, a world only privy to men. And one man in particular, has caught her eye.

Kitty Alcott has a reputation for being a tease. Many have tried to secure her hand but she will not relent. She loves dancing until dawn and being the object of all men's desires. But the rebuttal of a young naval captain confuses her. She doesn't know whether to be insulted or intrigued by Captain William Aubrey who isn't affected by her charm or beauty. She is faced with the dilemma of reflecting on her own behaviour and the possibility that she has to change...

Sara is the temperamental, quick-to-judge daughter of an upstanding Protestant family in the countryside of Cologne. To her, the war has always seemed a far-away nuisance. That is, until a warm night in the summer of 1944, when a jarring dose of reality is dumped upon their doorstep: young, fraught, and Jewish. Enter Benjamin Jastrow, the child of an old family friend and the new and indefinite resident of the Fleischers' attic. He is violently shy, coping with various stages of post-traumatic stress, and can hardly form a sentence without stammering—a nearly perfect opposite of the blustering Sara, who positively abhors his presence in her home. But for better or worse, they are the most important people in each others lives, and everything they thought they understood of their world will soon change forever.

Maggie Swift had always known something was missing from her life. She had everything an eighteen year old aristocrat could want - a title, wealth, a good family, and an incredible friend in Max Montgomery. What could possibly be missing? Many do not see past the audacious and joyous personality of Maggie Swift, the outspoken American child that Nate Swift, Earl of Montrose, adopted eleven years earlier. Many do not see the fact that she has always felt like an outsider, and that she truly believes that something is missing in her life. But a knock on the door of Montrose Manor will change Maggie's life. It will take her across an ocean to a life she never knew. But what Maggie has to decide is this: Who is she? Where does she belong? Who does she belong with? And most importantly, where is home?