Abigail Wendover, 'on the shelf' at twenty-eight...is determined to prevent her pretty and high-spirited niece from becoming attached to a good-looking town-beau and an acknowledged fortune-hunter of shocking reputation. Unfortunately, that means a confrontation with his scandalous uncle.

Miles Calverleigh, the black sheep of his family, is enormously rich from a long sojourn in India, has a scandalous past, and is not at all inclined toward good manners. Miles turns out to be the most provoking creature Abigail has ever met--with a disconcerting ability to throw her into giggles at quite the wrong moment... Could he be Abby's most important ally in keeping her niece from a most unfortunate match?

Praise for Georgette Heyer:

"Reading Georgette Heyer is the next best thing to reading Jane Austen."--Publishers Weekly

"A writer of great wit and style... I've read her books to ragged shreds."--Kate Fenton, Daily Telegraph

"Her books are always bestsellers, but none has dominated the rest of the field quite like this one."--Sunday Express