☆ ᴡᴀᴛᴛʏꜱ 2024 SHORTLISTER!! ☆
A tragic misunderstanding. A murder. A secret. An unlikely partnership. A spirited countess and an enterprising racketeer.
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Manchester, England. May 1925.
The Roarin' 20s. An era of glamor, decadent parties, jazz music, flowing booze, and opulent wealth. Possibilities are endless. Anyone can be a success, even families once seen as working class. But beneath the glittering exterior lies a world of corruption, prejudice, and civil unrest.
When the disappearance of a Russian refugee brings Countess Rose Sinclair to the doorstep of known racketeer William Mercer, neither party is prepared for the significant changes a single encounter can inspire.
Blackmailed by William into employment, Rose receives a swift and unwanted education regarding a side of the class struggle she has never before experienced.
As she unwillingly ventures deeper into the precarious world of the Mercer family and their notorious gang the Deansgate Streeters, Rose finds herself torn between her moral compass, her suppressed rebellious youth, her growing love for a motherless toddler, and her mounting attraction for William, a man she has every reason to despise.
⚠️ Read with caution: foul language, violence, trauma, and sexual content (fade to black only) within. This book is intended for readers 21+ ⚠️