Lady Philippa must wed to gain her fortune and freedom. A former soldier wants only peace and seclusion. Marriage to each other is their best solution.
Lady Philippa Gillensford, three and twenty and an heiress in her own right, is tethered to a future scripted by her family—a gilded cage she's desperate to escape. Disenchanted with society's approved suitors, she's ready to grasp her destiny, even if it means forsaking the elusive notion of love.
Captain Myles Cobbett, a battle-worn veteran of the Napoleonic wars, has chosen a life of self-imposed exile, his scars—visible and invisible—a barrier between him and a society he no longer recognizes. But an obligation to attend a charity ball for wounded veterans thrusts him back into the world, where he crosses paths with the vivacious Lady Philippa.
Seizing an unexpected opportunity to free herself from her family's yoke, Philippa hatches a daring plan: Myles must marry her to rescue her reputation. In return, she offers him what he thinks he desires—a tranquil existence in the country, far removed from the social whirlpool.
Yet as they play-act their way through marital bliss for the benefit of society, an undeniable tension sparks between them. Philippa and Myles find themselves wrestling not only with societal expectations but also with their own repressed desires. Can a marriage born of scandal and convenience evolve into an enduring love?
Lady Philippa and her captain navigate the rigid norms and hidden vulnerabilities of Regency society as they come to realize that true freedom lies not in isolation, but in choosing to share one's life with another.