After a tragic loss, Celia Delacourt faces a life of loneliness & poverty - until a distant cousin, the Duchess of Arnsford, unexpectedly takes her in. Celia suspects an ulterior motive, but is grateful to be spending Christmas with family, however remote the relation - and despite the chilling grandeur of the ducal palace. And once she meets her cousin Jack, Celia begins to wonder: Will this be the worst Christmas of her life - or the best?