Denied the woman of his dreams by his father's meddling, Calder Stafford, has spent the last decade proving himself to be self-sufficient, austere, and utterly uninterested in joy. Now that he is the Duke of Hartwell, he'll enact his revenge by abolishing the holiday traditions his father loved so well. His sisters will not sway him and neither will the woman--newly returned to town--who was stolen from him.

Returning to Hartwell to care for her mother, widow Felicity Garland is delighted to be back home, especially for the holidays. However, the jolly festivities she expects are nowhere to be found. When she goes to the source of the problem--the duke--she's astonished to see how much the young man she once loved has hardened. It's up to her to break through the impenetrable fortress around his heart--not just to save Christmas, but to save him.