Sometimes, a woman needs a hero.

Miss Caroline Jennings is facing a life of shame and poverty. She has lost everything: her home, her father, and any chance of happiness. What is more? If her father's secret is exposed, she will be known as the daughter of a traitor.

Surely, life cannot get much worse.

When a carriage accident throws her into the river - fitting punishment for her father's crimes - she is tempted to allow herself to succumb. It is only the thought of her two younger sisters and the strong arms of her rescuer that keep her among the living.

Alexander Vessey, Viscount Beachmont, ex-soldier, and one of the richest men in Britain. A classic hero if she'd ever seen one. Big, strong, and commanding. Any woman's heart would flutter like hers to be saved by him.

His heroics unfortunately have saved her for a life of loneliness and want.

However, when he offers her a marriage of convenience, it seems the perfect solution to regain her life. The only danger she faces now is the possibility of losing her heart.