1884 The death of Callie Scott's fashionable father left her with nothing—except an inquisitive mind not even her grandmother's puritanical upbringing could quash. An adventurous spirit doesn't get her much in New York City, however, except an abysmal position as a ladies companion.

Things are looking up when she lands a trial job in a "special" library. Her benefactor's offer of wine before noon should have signaled something amiss—not to mention the heated text she's asked to translate. The more she reads, the more wine she needs to cool her blush.

Detective Cutter can't quite place the tipsy young woman he encounters in a notorious brothel, but when she plants a dizzying kiss on his lips, he's sure she doesn't belong there. The resulting scandal of the police raid leaves Callie on the street, and Cutter feels responsible for her welfare.

Despite the cruel knowledge that he will never be part of her world, Cutter impulsively offers her a job in his home, where she turns out to possess more than the face of an angel. She has an irresistible, innocent sensuality—and an insatiable curiosity that could bring her one step too close to a murderer.

A NEW EDITION OF THE BOOK PREVIOUSLY TITLED THE RATCATCHER.