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.