Colonel Gideon Elliot is a battle hardened soldier. He's returned to England from India where he made his fortune. The son of a Vicar, his uncle was the 4th Duke of Kenilworth and now, he's inherited his uncle's title. He feels like a fish out of water within the ranks of the ton, and through his long friendship with the Duke of Daventry, he finds the woman of his dreams - Virginia 'Ginny' Larkin, Dowager Viscountess Beverley. Widowed at a young age, Ginny Larkin finds herself a pariah within the ton. Touched by scandal through her dead husband who lost everything they had because of his addiction to Hazard, she is slowly coming out of her period of mourning. Believed to be barren, the ladies within the ton have warned their sons against offering for her hand. Her future looks bleak until Gideon comes into her life. With the support of her family the irrepressible Deville Family, she puts the shadows of the past to rest and takes another chance on love.