Responsible, practical Miss Hermione Rogers, has been crafting stories as the notorious Mr. Michael Michaelmas and selling them for a meager wage to support her siblings. The only real way to ensure her family's ruinous debts are paid, however, is to marry. Tall, thin, and plain, she has no expectation of success. In London for her first Season she seizes the chance to write the tale of a brooding duke. In her research, she finds Sebastian Fitzhugh, the Fifth Duke of Mallen, who unfortunately is perfectly affable, charming, and so nicely...configured...he takes her breath away. He lacks all the character traits she needs for her story, but alas, any duke will have to do.

Sebastian Fitzhugh, the Fifth Duke of Mallen has been deceived so many times during the high-stakes game of courtship, he's lost faith in society women. Yet, after a chance encounter with Hermione, he finds himself intrigued. Not a woman he'd normally consider beautiful, the young lady's practical bent, her forthright nature, and her tendency to turn up in the oddest places has his interests...roused. He'd like to trust her - he'd like to do a whole lot more with her, too - but should he?