Nicholas Montford is tired of the London Season, tired of the marriage mart, and most of all, he is tired of encountering a certain duchess from his past. The Hatton viscountcy has an estate in Ireland, a place his father wrote fondly of in his journal. By journeying to Ireland, Nicholas could escape the duchess he once loved as well as see to a property that a Montford has not visited since he was a boy. 

Despite his grandfather’s objections, he departs for County Antrim, eager to seek solace, but when he first espies a cloaked figure on horseback galloping across his lands as though fleeing for his life, Nicholas’s wishes seem for naught. He gives chase to the trespasser, but when a fiery redhead with a glare to match her locks emerges from the cape, he finds himself in a predicament he never imagined possible.

Lady Fiona Fitzgerald has no need of a gentleman to wed—not even the handsome viscount who just arrived at Montford, the neighbouring estate. As the Earl of Kildare’s only child and heir, she plans to live forever at Larchfield as a spinster. After all, her father raised her as he would a son: she rides astride, shoots with the men, and never reads romances, so why do as expected and marry a man? Why would she make herself subject to a gentleman’s whims? But what is she to do about Viscount Hatton? 

He has come to her rescue more than once, challenges her at every turn, and frustrates her to no end. He also stirs her like no other she has ever met. When her father poses an ultimatum, the irritating gentleman could be the answer, but can she entrust Viscount Hatton with her dilemma? By doing so, she might have to leave all she has known and cherished behind, but by taking such a huge risk, will she find something even greater—will she find love?