Ellen Dunbar (who first appeared in The Smithfield Bargain) visits Wolfe Abbey, the home of Corey Wolfe, Marquess Wulfric (who first appeared in The Wolfe Wager), to watch a fireworks show. She finds Lord Wulfric fun and enjoys the fireworks until something goes terribly wrong. Fireworks explode, knocking her from her feet and fatally wounding the marquess. She is shattered at his death, but her despair becomes astonishment when, that night, Corey reappears . . . as a ghost! He vows to find her the perfect husband before the chrysanthemums bloom at summer's end. The problem is, as Corey match-makes for Ellen (who is the only one who can see and hear him), he begins to fall in love with her himself. So what's a ghost to do when he's made a vow and he can't even touch the woman he loves?