After being expelled from a young ladies' academy, a disgraced Miss Arabella Jardine is whisked away to the Continent, where she finds herself in even more trouble after an encounter with Gabriel Holmes-Fitzgerald. After the encounter, he's obliged to offer for the young lady's hand. Unprincipled cad that he is, Gabriel is no stranger to scandal. He'll do the right thing and wed Arabella, although he secretly despairs. When Arabella's life is threatened by an unscrupulous enemy from the past, one thing becomes crystal clear to Gabriel: the worst torment will be losing the woman he loves.