She’s everything he never wanted—until she was everything he needed. Tired of the smoke, the smog, and the spoiled females of London, Frederick Hawkins leaves the city behind and purchases an estate in Cornwall, longing to escape his mother’s meddling—and to find a wife worthy of his devotion. When he happens upon a barefooted lady asleep on the beach and rescues her from the incoming tide, he believes he has found such a woman. But first impressions can’t be trusted. Born into wealth, Sophia Rosewall is offered everything on a silver platter. That is, until her father reveals he has lost their fortune and can now no longer fund their affluent living. Even worse, the intriguing gentleman who’d rescued Sophia on the beach is no one else but the pretentious man now taking possession of her home. Uprooted from everything she has ever known, Sophia relocates to Lowena, a small cottage at the edge of the sea. She clings to her former life, but when Society rejects her, nothing will ever be the same. As their paths continually cross, Frederick begins to see glimmers of the carefree Sophia he’d first met on the beach, and he cannot help but hope that there is more to the woman than a love of wealth and attention. He does what he can to help her find confidence in her new life and allow her true self to shine forth, but only Sophia can stop attempting to change her circumstances, and instead, change her heart.