In England's Regency era, manners and elegance reign in public life--but behind closed doors treason and deception thrive. Nicholas Langdon is no stranger to reserved civility or bloody barbarity. After suffering a battlefield injury, the wealthy, well-connected British officer returns home to heal--and to fulfill a dying soldier's last wish by delivering his coded diary.

At the home of the Wilherns, one of England's most powerful families, Langdon attends a lavish ball where he meets their beautiful and intelligent ward, Julia Grey. Determined to maintain propriety, he keeps his distance--until the diary is stolen and all clues lead to Julia's guardian. As Langdon traces an evil plot that could be the nation's undoing, he grows ever more intrigued by the lovely young woman. And when Julia realizes that England--and the man she is falling in love with--need her help, she finds herself caught in the fray. Will the two succumb to their attraction while fighting to save their country?