When his ailing grandfather commands him to search for a long-lost female cousin, Evelyn Dresdenham, the notorious Marquis of Denver, is very disinclined to oblige. One night, when he unwittingly saves a young lady disguising herself as a man from trouble, Lord Denver strikes upon a cunning notion and soon realizes he cannot let this enchanting waif slip so easily... Running away from the oppressive orphanage that has sheltered her since the death of her grandfather, Georgie Kentsville is set on coming to London by hook or by crook. Little does she expect to find herself in a rare hobble, and even less to be held back by a handsome but bored nobleman, who suddenly offers her a very outrageous proposal : to pose as his long-lost cousin!

Sophia has sacrificed everything for her younger sister, Lucy. She has removed them from the only home they ever knew, taken on the care of Lucy's illegitimate son, George, and even assumed the role of a widow and mother in order to erase all hint of scandal from the boy's birth. But rumor continues to follow them like the darkest of clouds, and Sophia must adapt to her new existence as a false widow with no prospects beyond the doors of her small cottage. Lord Haughton - "Finn" to those close to him - will stop at nothing to prevent the slightest whiff of disgrace from tainting his family's name. When he learns of his younger brother's latest indiscretion-one that leaves a bastard child in his wake-Haughton rushes across the country to offer the boy's mother a comfortable living in exchange for her silence about the child's true parentage. But he arrives only to have his generous offer thrown back in his face by Sophia Brixton, a sharp-tongued and sharper-witted woman who proceeds to toss him out of her house. But just because he is banished from her home does not mean he is so easily banished from her life.