Hugo Wilde, the duke of Lindow, has a drafty castle, eight naughty children - and no wife. Ophelia, Lady Astley, has a fine house, one well-behaved daughter - and no husband. Hugo takes one look at Ophelia and loses his heart, but she doesn’t want more children or a castle. She takes one look at him and heads for her carriage. Desperate to find a duchess, Hugo identifies an appropriate lady to woo. Yet when he meets Ophelia again, the duke realizes that he will marry her, or no one.

Welcome to a world of reckless sensuality and glittering sophistication, of dangerously handsome gentlemen and young ladies longing to gain a title, of games played for high stakes, including - on occasion - a lady's virtue. A marquess's sheltered only daughter, Lady Roberta St. Giles, falls in love with a man she glimpses across a crowded ballroom: a duke, a game player of consummate skill, a notorious rakehell who shows no interest in marriage, until he lays eyes on Roberta.

Miss Beatrice Valentine is having a horrible first Season, shamed for her curves by Lady Regina Haywood. Despite Regina's attempts to make Bea a wallflower, Bea finds herself torn between Regina's fiancé, the rakish, quick-tempered Lord Peregrine, and Regina's brother, the war-hero, the Duke of Lennox. Bea is determined to marry a kindly man, and certainly no one attached to Regina. But both of these gentlemen are determined to seduce her . . . and one will succeed.

Lady Kathryn Lambert must marry a titled gentleman to claim her inheritance and has finally gained the attention of a duke. Yet she is unable to forget the scandalous second son who aided in her achievement - or his betrayal. Lord Griffith Stanwick is tormented by the bitter truth that as a “spare”, he will never be able to give Kathryn what she yearns to possess. But when his father is found guilty of treason, Griff detours into the dark and dangerous corners of London, haunted by memories of the woman lost to him forever.

Four amazing talents have come together to create one of the most unforgettable events of the year. The results are spectacular - each story is as unique as a lover's first kiss.