Still bearing the scars of a brutal yet mercifully short marriage, Laura Hedley, left independently wealthy, accepts an invitation from her friend Frankie, the Duchess of Winchester, to stay at Winchester Park while she considers settling in the district. But trouble follows close on her heels in the form of her disgruntled stepson who thinks that Laura has stolen his rightful inheritance. Lord Simeon Pallister is convinced that his brother Albert’s murder was arranged by the adulterous wife whom Albert was threatening to divorce. Simeon seeks the duke’s help to track down the perpetrators. Lord Amos, the duke’s brother, sees an opportunity to exorcise his personal demons by helping Simeon to find justice, unaware that it will involve taking partial responsibility for Laura’s problems too. Will Simeon find the proof he seeks? Will Laura ever feel truly free? Danger threatens at every turn. So too does the burgeoning passion that Laura and Simeon find it increasingly hard to ignore. But Laura has been burnt once and will never marry again…

Summer 1826 Tired of having his loyalties constantly questioned as a consequence of his father’s nefarious activities during the war with Napoleon, Jared Braden resigns from the diplomatic service and returns to England during one of the longest heatwaves in living memory. He purchases a rundown estate close to the home of Redrow, the cunning individual he suspects of being the real traitor working against British interests. Martina Sanchez-Gomez, one of two Spanish refugees rescued from an uncertain future by Lord Amos Sheridan, leaves her position in the Redrow household without explanation. She joins her sister at Winchester Park, the opulent home of Zachary Sheridan, the Duke of Winchester, where she is thrown together with Jared in a most unexpected manner. Martina feels an immediate connection to the duke’s handsome new neighbour. When she discovers that they both have reasons to dislike Redrow, Martina explains to Jared why she left the man’s employ. When an opportunity to help him restore his reputation arises, she doesn’t hesitate. But on the night of the duke’s sophisticated masquerade, Martina’s recklessness puts her life in danger. Will Jared succeed in clearing his name and find a way to save the woman who has come to mean so much to him from her own impetuousness…

Zac, the Duke of Winchester, and his brothers rescue Lady Leona Marlowe from the unwelcome attentions of the man pursuing her and take her to the safety of Winchester Park. Frankie, Zac’s duchess, knew Leona years previously but the young girl she recalls is now an attractive widow being persecuted by her late-husband’s relations. Doran Conroy accepts Lord Vincent’s invitation to visit Winchester in the hope of interesting Zac in his Irish timber trade. A trade that is being hampered by a legal battle over boundaries. When Doran encounters Leona, already installed at the Park, and discovers that she is the owner of the disputed right of way, his suspicions rage full-scale warfare with his instinctive attraction towards the beguiling widow. Stranded at the Park in the grips of a bitter winter, Doran can’t decide if Leona is ambitiously vindictive or herself a victim of fraud. Thrown together they delve deeper into the backgrounds of those out to cause mischief but become distracted by their growing awareness of one another. Lord Amos meanwhile, slowly coming to terms with the death of his beloved wife, has welcome news for Ariana. Can Doran overcome his suspicions regarding the enticing widow’s intentions? Can Leona ever trust another man enough to risk her fragile heart? Will Amos’s conscience permit him to live again…

Within the safe environment of the Duke of Winchester’s opulent estate, Ariana is finally reunited with her brother, Raphael, a situation that Amos, the duke’s brother, worked relentlessly to bring about. Ariana and Raph barely have time to become reacquainted before learning that the man responsible for forcibly bringing Ariana and her sister to England is still plying his trade. Amos and Raph agree that he must be stopped, but without exposing Ariana to danger. Lucy Boyd is flattered by the attention she receives from Raph. But a life of humdrum domesticity doesn’t form part of her plans. Lucy craves adventure. When she and Ariana take it upon themselves to lure Ariana’s former abductor into a trap, the consequences are far reaching. Can Amos save the impetuous Ariana from her own folly? Will he allow his feelings for her to develop when he still mourns the death of his wife? Has Lucy’s thirst for adventure been assuaged, or can Raph persuade her that a future including him would be anything other than humdrum...