When Sebastian Edgars, Viscount Trelawney, meets Miss Phoebe Carmichael at her father's funeral, the ground shifts beneath his feet. Since he cannot court her during mourning, he does the only thing he might: he disguises himself as a servant in her home. Wealthy and impatient, cut by grief, Phoebe isn't interested in marriage, but when she meets Sebastian, everything in her calms. He understands how spring's promise will lead her back to life. As secret organizations and mad Assyriologists battle around them, will their love prove strong enough to overcome societal norms and those set against their union?