Gloucestershire, 1813. Miss Mary Lound of Tapley End would be the first to say that she demonstrates more grace with a fishing rod in her hand than she might ever twirling in a ballroom. This was not, however, a problem until her ne'er-do-well brother sold the family estate, leaving Mary and her mother in very straitened circumstances. When the new owner, Sir Rowland Kempsey, takes up residence, Mary decides to direct her energies into recovering her beloved home by catching a husband.

Gregory Dinard, a young and inexperienced duke, finds himself in need of a companion to help him navigate the intricacies of his new role. Uncertain of his abilities and unwilling to take a chance at love, he looks for a marriage of mutual benefit rather than a match of mutual affection.

Vivacious Vivienne has finally won her family's approval by getting engaged to the wealthy and upright John Vandergrift. But when threatened by a vicious blackmail scheme, it is to her childhood friend that Vivienne turns; the deliciously wicked Viscount Dashiell. Lord Dashiell promised himself long ago that his friendship with Vivienne would be the one relationship with a woman that he wouldn't ruin. He agrees to help her just to keep the little hothead safe, but soon finds that Vivienne has grown up to be very, very dangerous to all of Dash's best intentions.

1715: With the country on the brink of rebellion, Dorothy Forster’s life at Bamburgh Hall is ruled by the men in her life – her feckless brothers stirring up trouble at court, her elderly father with his dangerous secrets and the man she loves who the world seems determined to keep her apart from. As tensions grow, Dorothy finds herself caught between the warring factions, danger everywhere. Then Dorothy discovers her family are the keepers of the legendary Rose, the talisman both sides believe will guarantee them victory in this deadly conflict.

Alice, Lady Charlton, is finally free of her dominating husband, but on the verge of her new life, she is trapped when a blackmailer threatens to publish letters that could ruin her. To protect the secrets of her past Alice must find a lord for his daughter, Lucy, to marry. Alice reluctantly agrees to find the girl a noble husband but when Lucy arrives, she's difficult and uncooperative and has no interest in her father's scheme. A lord, she says, will only look down his nose at her-and she's having none of that! Desperate, Alice enlists the aid of her handsome young nephew.