On New Year's Eve 1905, Genevieve Morgan attends a ball at the elaborate Palace Hotel in San Francisco hosted by Seth Comstock, the newest, most eligible bachelor in town. Desperate to escape the infamous bordello she inherited, Genevieve hopes to charm and marry Comstock. Easier said than done for a nobody fish in a little pond who cannot waltz. As Seth catches her eye, Genevieve prays he has a warm personality to take the chill off his cold smile. If only there was someone to give her a few lessons not only in dancing but in the art of seduction.

Seth warns his twin sister, Selma, to distract Harriett Peak, a local journalist who wrote about the Nob Hill house he claims he's building, so that he can make Genevieve his teammate for a midnight scavenger hunt. Genevieve is not to suspect this ball is for her benefit. Enter Luke Harper, a riverboat gambler who is staying at the hotel while he unloads a horse ranch he won in a high stakes poker game. One glance at the beautiful siren with lilac cat eyes and Luke goes on his own kind of hunt.

As the music stops and dancers switch partners, Genevieve finds herself in the arms of this man, so gorgeous he rivals Adonis. The thought crosses Luke's mind to never let her go as she stomps his feet. No, he's leaving soon. But finding out she wants to marry the host, Luke's gut warns him that Genevieve is headed for serious trouble. Will Luke vanish into the wild or strike a deal with Genevieve, who is anything but tame?