Edith wants only one thing: to become a surgeon like her father. Who has time to make friends when she has anatomy books to study? Who wants to go to a ball when she has medical conferences to attend?

Peregrine, Perry to his friends, doesn’t share her enthusiasm for books. He’s the brother of the Earl of Ravenscroft, titled, and powerful. Studying? Why would he need to study? He’s the spare. With no title comes no responsibilities.

But after they risk their lives on the sinking steamship Princess Alice, they start to reconsider their priorities. Edith tries every pleasure London has to offer. Perry works hard to become a good earl after the title passes to him. Sudden seizures have plagued him since the incident, and he must keep his condition secret, not to be marked as deranged or worse, cursed, and locked up in an institution.

Edith’s hedonistic life comes to a grinding halt after the almost-nude painting she posed for is bought by Perry, now Lord Ravenscroft. She’s furious. The artist promised not to sell the compromising painting, and now she wants it back before a scandal ensues.

Perry proposes a deal. If she works for him as his secretary, he’ll give her the painting.

Except their attraction may cause another scandal.

England, 1887

After a near-death experience in the Theatre Royal fire, Angeline wants to find love and have a family. But her mother has other plans. Marriage is overrated. Power is the only thing that matters.

Angeline is supposed to follow in her mother's steps: become the mistress of many rich lords, collect compromising material on them, blackmail them, and make a lot of money. That's the recipe for a happy life.

Not for Angeline.

A former cat burglar, turned footman, turned baron, Royston comes from the gutter, but the queen bestows him a title after he saved her grandson from the inferno of the Theatre Royal. London's peers adore him; he's a fascinating combination of wildness and courage, and well, the queen likes him. But no one wants to help him get a seat in the House of Lords. After all, he isn't really one of the peers. If he wants to change society though, he has to be in Parliament. If only a peer supported him.

The Earl of Havisham proposes a deal. If Royston uses his thief skills to retrieve some compromising documents Angeline's mother has on the earl, Lord Havisham will be Royston's champion.