Hyacinth Grey has led a quiet life in Gibraltar, managing her father's household and tutoring her young half-brother. One day, a letter arrives informing her that she has inherited a small fortune from her grandmother, an infamous courtesan. Thomas Pently, alias Smithson, earned his own wealth in the East India Company. Then his mistress was murdered, and his aristocratic family summoned him home. He's now third in line to his uncle's duchy, after his aging father and one sickly cousin. Aboard the Whistler, they become friends, but can their fledgeling romance survive the whirl of London society, or their families' interference?