After he's shot in action, the War Offices forces Thomas Matteson out of the thrilling life of espionage and into one as the Viscount Chesney, heir to the Earl of Chatham. But Thomas has no desire to waste his days chasing women and waiting to become an earl. So when an old family friend comes to him about a rash of mysterious robberies near the Blackwood Hall estate, Thomas is eager to get back in the field. But Thomas never dreamed his suspect would be the most beautiful--and beguiling--woman he'd ever seen. The beautiful Josephine Carlisle has resigned herself to the life of a spinster. Though she's the daughter of a baron, her adopted status means that no landed man will have her. And she's fine with that, until she meets the handsome and mysterious Thomas Matteson. She's never felt such an intense attraction for a man. But he's digging in her past and attempting to uncover all of her secrets--secrets that could put her freedom in jeopardy.