Sarah Palmer is impoverished, desperate, and alone. Her father was murdered years ago, and her only sibling is now dead. When an unkempt man turns up on her doorstep, he claims a friendship with her late brother, and the desire to fulfill her brother's dying wish that they marry. Sarah sees no other solution for her situation but to wed the roguish stranger.

Although it's not apparent from his gruff appearance, Gabriel Harrington comes from one of London's finest families. However, he is not the man Sarah's brother intended her to marry. Overcome with guilt at his hasty lie, Gabriel must begin a life with the chilly Miss Palmer, who appears content with their passionless marriage.

But Sarah is not as immune to Gabriel as he thinks. Driven by the desire to learn the truth behind her father's murder and committed to a make her unexpected marriage successful, she fights to win Gabriel's affections. Once he begins to see the passion in her, he isn't that hard to convince...