1815. A radical scholar, a handsome fortune hunter, and pistols at dawn.

Laurie Sinclair has to get married for money, and he has exactly one season to do it in. His elder brother left him more debts than capital, and it is the only way he can think of to provide dowries for his sister and niece. So he hides his secrets, plasters on a smile, and sets out to charm. But it is not easy to overcome the disadvantages of an ungentlemanly timidity, a French mother, and a complete lack of interest in young ladies. The last thing Laurie needs is to be seen to associate with a gentleman known for his shocking opinions and radical politics.

Marcus Junius Fleetwood is out of temper with the world. He is frustrated with the state of scholarship in England, he is being blackmailed by persons unknown with something he hasn’t actually done, and his best friend is too busy squiring a pretty younger son about town to talk to him. What he needs is a distraction, and a chance encounter with a handsome fortune hunter will do very nicely.

Both men are quite agreed that their first meeting should also be their last, but as the season wears on they keep running into each other, and Laurie starts to admit to himself that he much prefers spending time with Fleetwood over courting Lady Mariana Savage. And when he finds his honour challenged, it is Fleetwood he turns to, despite the danger to them both.