Barrett Stanbridge has a lovely home in one of London's best neighborhoods, great friends, a thriving private investigation business, and feminine companionship whenever it's convenient. The shadows of his past have been accepted and neatly put away. In short, he's a man really quite content with the structure and direction of his deliberately solitary life. Being accused of the murder of a beautiful woman changes everything.
The daring Isabella Dandaneau, a widow, has left America and the memories of a less-than-happy marriage behind in order to find her fortune in England. With half of a pirate's treasure map in hand, she's arrived in London, determined to find her cousin—and the other half of the map—and better her financial lot in life. Only she has been murdered and the devilishly handsome, Barrett Stanbridge stands accused of her murder. But it takes only one look at the rogue for Isabella to know, not only is this a man who could have never killed her cousin, but that he also sets her blood on fire the way no man ever has. And it's not long before she realizes that falling in love changes everything.