Her father's best friend is the man-of-her-dreams.

Lady Henrietta Stafford can't remember a time when she wasn't fascinated by the tall, dark, melancholy Mr. Oliver Hartwell. But she knows she is meant for some other, far less compelling man. Her father's friend Mr. Hartwell would never be interested in her. She's too young. She's not beautiful or clever. And, of course, he's already married.

A widower twice over, Oliver Hartwell's life has lived a life marked by failures—his boyhood-dream-turned-hellish-nightmare, his tragic marriages, the utter botch he is making of fatherhood. In truth, he has only ever found happiness in the home of his friend, the Duke of Bexton. But now that his friend's oldest daughter has grown into a gorgeous, voluptuous woman, Oliver seems doomed to ruin his chances for love and affection, just as he has ruined everything else.

When ruination is the first step towards redemption . . .