"When the Duke of Lexington meets the mysterious Baroness von Seidlitz-Hardenberg on a transatlantic liner, he is fascinated. She's exactly what he has been searching for--a beautiful woman who interests and entices him. He falls hard and fast--and soon proposes marriage. And then she disappears without a trace-- For in reality, the "baroness" is Venetia Easterbrook--a proper young widow who had her own vengeful reasons for instigating an affair...

When he elopes with Helena Fitzhugh, who has despised him since they were children, to save her reputation, Viscount Hastings gets a second chance to prove his love after a carriage accident robs Helena of her memory.