Edwarda Wright is England's Sweetheart. The proprietress of the Aphrodite Hotel - the most profitable business in London - Eddie has had a lifetime of being chased around by money-thirsty gentleman, despite her efforts to stay clear from the marital market. The heiress lives in constant dismay, as not even a humdrum conservative wardrobe and a frigid attitude manage to keep impoverished aristocrats at bay - even if her fashions choices are enough to conceal the secrets of her past. Hart Wickham, the infamous Duke of Langdon, is a renowned rogue and a devoted widower, famous for both his political work and his ability to seduce women. After his wife died, leaving behind a young daughter and a nearly unpayable gambling debt, Hart was forced to make ends meet with the shambles in which Laura left his life. And he has succeeded, having spent nearly five years working to get back each and every penny - and estate - his late duchess gambled away. Determined to get back what he is due, Hart decides to return to London, staying in the Aphrodite Hotel with his daughter; the two of them sharing a suite with a menagerie of pets that include a pig, a chicken and a tarantula - all against the hotel rules. Which means, of course, Miss Wright is quick to catch up to their infractions. When they both realize neither of them is in the least interested in marriage, but both could have quite a lot to gain from it, Edwarda makes the most scandalous of proposals. Edwarda Wright proposes an engagement - a convenient farse - supposed to end in scandal. A scandal meant to ruin Edwarda's reputation, freeing her from her suitors' persistent chase, and give Hart his beloved estate as compensation for the rupture of their engagement contract.