The terms of the will were clear. Stay for one year and inherit the marquisate.

The last thing Lewis Burroughs, the Baron Annersleigh, wants to be responsible for is Whispering Pines, his uncle's sprawling estate in the wilds of Cumberland and once a childhood idyll.

Grudgingly, and sceptical a title is worth twelve months of his life, Lewis is persuaded to travel north. To his surprise, he discovers an affinity with the old manor and its breathtaking surrounds – over which an enormous and imperious feline seems to reign supreme - not to mention a fiery red head who, despite his best efforts, has taken up residence in his thoughts.

Mourning the loss of her adopted uncle, Ailsa Duval, while harbouring reservations about the new owner of Whispering Pines, is determined to make him feel welcome, oblivious to the fact, this is not their first encounter.

The revival of a long-forgotten friendship stirs something more enduring and, as the weeks become months, recognition of their mutual affection hovers tantalisingly close, but the course of true love never did run smooth. On the cusp of realisation, the arrival of two strangers and an unexpected revelation threaten to jeopardise any hope of a happily ever after.

Fortuitously, the baron's inheritance is more than bricks and mortar, more than a title, and the fate of Lewis and Ailsa's fledgling romance now rests in the paws of a huge grey cat.