Taking over her estate was acceptable. Lying is not.

Lady Lavinia Shaftesborough's marriage had been a cold agreement since day one. After her much older husband fulfilled his duties and gave her a son, he disappeared, and Lavinia learned how to find moments of happiness in shopping for new clothes and in raising her son. However, the small delights of her life are going to be taken away from her after her husband's sudden death.

As if being widowed at the tender age of twenty-one was not enough, a new tragedy hits, and Lavinia and her son are placed under the guardianship of the renowned sportsman and infamous rake Miles Darrington. Her husband probably never liked her, but putting a dangerous rake and womanizer in the position of her guardian seems like brutal revenge. Lavinia tries her best to keep her distance from Miles, but he brings positive change to the house, and other noblemen and tax collectors begin to respect the household again since a new "Lord" is in charge.

The widow starts feeling guilty because the mourning period is not yet over, but she is already more attracted to her guardian than she ever was to her late husband. Unfortunately, Miles does not open his heart to Lavinia, and she is now sure that something is wrong with her; she can not make men feel any emotion, and it was her fault that her husband never wanted to be around her. Yet, she has no idea that Miles is holding back a dark secret from being revealed, and he will stop at nothing to prevent Lavinia from learning the truth.