Rayne St. Cyr, Marquess of Seaford, is resigned to marry and produce heirs. He then learns his bride is partaking of a Season, arranged by her father, the Baron, to force his hand. His honor impugned, the secret behind the arranged marriage additionally fuels his ire. Believing Lady Emma to be no different than her odious father, St. Cyr hatches a nefarious plan: quickly marry and seclude her, visiting only to beget those heirs. Lady Emma Newmark is kind and caring, though at the mercy of her widowed father. Now, rushed into marriage, isolated in a ruined castle with a man who exudes contempt—yet draws her all the same—she despairs. Spurned and humiliated, left with servants who apparently plot her demise, she runs away, preferring to choose her fate. Rayne comes to his senses and saves her, but can a new plan gain her forgiveness—and love?