When Miss Ella Evans, bluestocking and gothic fiction writer, is asked to accompany one of the Crown's undercover agents to a May Day celebration in pursuit of a of a band of French smugglers, she cannot refuse even though it means confronting the man who stole her innocence with the empty promise of matrimony three years ago.

Lord Sebastian Grosvenor pledged his fealty to the Crown, but that loyalty is tested when Lord Rathbourne, Head of English Intelligence, demands he pose as the besotted beau to a bookish spinster to root out a dangerous foreign spy. When Ella's clever machinations prove invaluable to their mission, Sebastian finds himself torn between protecting her honor and identifying the smuggling ringleader.

Danger and passion collide when Ella uncovers the spy's identity and is kidnapped. Can Sebastian rescue the young woman who's stolen his heart without sacrificing his duty to the Crown?