The Duke of Blackwood has no room for disorder. Simon Thorne's meticulous life is shattered when he inherits guardianship of Daphne Ashworth, a vibrant, naive country girl whose enthusiasm threatens to break his iron control. He burns her frivolous dresses, enforces brutal punctuality, and uses swift discipline to curb her wild spirit.

As their dynamic twists from mentor/ward to possessor/possessed, Simon fights his fierce, forbidden desire by attempting to marry her off to a foreign Prince. But when a passionate kiss in a maze is caught by the press, Simon is forced to marry Daphne immediately to save her reputation.

Now, bound by an unwanted vow, Daphne must learn to assert herself within his ordered world, forcing the cold, controlling Duke to realize that the vibrant life she carries inside is the only thing capable of setting his soul free.