1772. London. Scandal. Suspense. Sex.

With her perfect breeding, flawless beauty, and proper manners, Alison Brooke never expected to be smeared by the cruel brush of scandal. Robert Anderson, Viscount Charmaine, is focused on his tumbling finances and dying father. When villainy leaves the ravishing (and ravished) Alison thrown at his feet, Robert is pulled from his self-recrimination and into the heart of the Season's hottest gossip.

Marquis Anthony Farrington is one of Alison's many rejected suitors and Robert's best friend. Secretly, Anthony risks the gallows for his ongoing support of the populist movements. When Robert is given charge of the investigation against Anthony, friendships, loyalty, and ideals come into question. Alison's constant companion, the wallflower Brenda Boswell, timidly watches romance unfold. Yet, in the end, unfashionable Brenda shows herself to be a spitfire capable of saving them all.

Caught in the act, caught by scandal, caught by honor, and caught by duty, the four friends are ultimately caught by the most powerful thing of all - love.