Lady Anthea’s relationship with Lord Desford has never been easy, but always entertaining. After ending a short, disastrous engagement, the two spend the next decade in a verbal sparring match. Their goal? Jab each other as much as possible while London looks on, accepting them as an eccentric, amusing pair. It's a position that suits them both. So, when word goes round that Desford is looking for a bride, Anthea is certain their relationship won’t change, and focuses her energies on how to dampen her beautiful niece’s infatuation with Desford’s cousin, the handsome Richard Tiverton. Finally yielding to the pressures of his family, Lord Desford agrees to find a wife and flatly refuses to help either Richard or Anthea in the situation revolving around Molly Wakefield, Anthea’s niece. With his considerable fortune, and title to go with it, it will be easy to find a suitable woman to fill the position. He knows full well that love will not play a part in his marriage. How could it when the woman he’s really wanted all these years won’t have anything to do with love?