Bronx, New York, September, 1962. The only daughters of a schoolteacher (Lucio Marino) and his say-at-home wife (Gabriella Marino), both only sixteen, are Alessandra "Alessa" Marino and her twin sister, Elena. Alessa and Elena may be happy and bubbly when they're at school or relaxing with friends, but at home, things are not always as they seem. Lucio is frustrated with the lack of money coming from teaching high school Algebra, and the stress and anger has forced him to succumb to whiskey and beer. While drunk, he occasionally lashes out at Gabriella and his sons. The constant beatings force 17-year-old Salvatore Marino to drop out of school at the begining of senior year, suddenly taking a liking into 18-year-old Romano Marino's gang business. Things are bad, but when Alessa falls in love with a man her father hates and Elena falls in love with a colored man opposite her elder brothers' gang, things go from bad to worse quicker than the girls could have expected.
Just when she's decided to leave the Town, Lady Cressida Belverst is forced to marry Lord Calan Haverston, the man who coincidentally knows a way out. Agreeing to marry for all the wrong reasons, can Cressida and Calan find out where their hearts truly belong?
***
It is impossible to leave the Town, but one woman is determined to escape with the help of her betrothed.
Lady Cressida Belverst has always been judged as a walking scandal. Oh, how she tries (on some rare occasions) to be proper! When her parents arrange for her to marry a rich lord, Cressida has had enough. She has to leave the Town because she will not be forced to live with a man she doesn't love. But what happens if the very man she's betrothed to is the only one who can help her get out?
Calan Haverston, the Lord of Easton, takes the risk and helps his betrothed by using his knowledge of the Town's secrets because he is as willing as she to stay free of marriage for reasons completely different. He has dark secrets he cannot share with her, and his life is not one he can likewise open to anyone. But what happens when she leaves after awakening desires he thought he has under control? And what happens when he finds himself longing for her?
Cressida goes to a completely different place, one she has only heard in stories and read in books, with hopes of finding what her heart has always longed for. But love, mystery and secrets will chase her and it will only be a matter of time before she realizes what her heart truly desires.
*This story is a standalone title in the Haverston Family series.