Abandoned by the man she thought loved her, Claire Denham is left with very few options as she faces the prospect of being disgraced for falling pregnant out of wedlock. In fact, she is left with one. Lord Jack Beresford, the younger son of the late Duke of Ashwood, and often considered "the spare" in comparison to his older brother, has long held a torch for the pretty Claire Denham. When fate throws them together, Jack extends a favour to Claire, and she takes it, turning the lives of their families upside down. As they navigate a marriage of convenience, jealousy, betrayal, old lovers, and the fear of being second best all pose dangerous threats to an already shaky relationship ...

As Lord Adam Beresford left Ashwood, Hertfordshire for the training and education of a gentleman, he promised to return and marry his childhood best friend, and the only girl he could see himself marrying, Grace Denham. Neither of them foresaw that it would be twelve years until they would meet again. A lot has changed in that time, and their lives are vastly different. Adam became a gentleman, and everything that the heir to a Dukedom ought to be. Grace remained in Ashwood and became a housemaid to support her family. But as their lives intertwine once more, their childhood promise bubbles to the surface, throwing their lives, the lives of their families, and the village of Ashwood into chaos.

Lady Eliza Turner has no interest in finding herself a wealthy husband, she has her books, her best friend Charlotte, and plenty of opinions on what society expects from her. When her curiosity gets the better of her, and she ends up in a compromising position with the desirable Duke Harrington she must use all her wits and charm to survive the scandal she has created. Jasper Harrington doesn't enjoy attending social occasions especially when opinionated women think that it is acceptable to criticise him, but there is something about Eliza that he can't quite bear to part with. Are this odd couple going to find a happy ever after together or apart?