After their father dies, the Duke of Durham's three sons discover that he had a young first wife before he married their mother -- and whom he never divorced. This could make all three sons bastards and disinherit them permanently. Lord Edward de Lacey, the middle brother and the most logical, decides they need to hire the best solicitor in town. But his strategy veers off track almost immediately when he runs up against a woman scorned.
Francesca, Lady Gordon, is determined to rescue her late sister's child from the clutches of a wicked stepmother. When the solicitor she hopes to hire dumps her for Edward's case, she demands that Edward help her. Francesca tells herself she only wants the benefit of Edward's status and connections to find her niece; he's too straitlaced and dull to interest her on any other level. But as his family problems become public scandal and her personal quest looks more and more hopeless, she finds herself falling for him anyway...
