In 1902. Plump Virginia Clay, was dominated by her mother, Mrs. Stuyvesant Clay, widow of an American millionaire. She knew quite well why Sebastian Ryll, the future Duke of Camberford, wanted to marry her. He was sorely in need of money--and Virginia's mother had offered him two million dollars!

Virginia tried to refuse. She wanted to marry for love. She could only detest a man who would marry her for her fortune, no matter how handsome and noble. But soon the unhappy girl found herself at the altar, vowing her love to a tall, dark, cynical stranger. At that moment Virginia thought her life had ended.

She collapses from the strain, recovering a year later to find herself slim and stunning. Hoping to obtain a divorce from the man she barely knows but despises for wanting her money, she travels incognito to his ancestral home -- only to discover that the man she wed is not what she expected him to be. It was only the beginning... the beginning of dangerous intrigue and secret romance--and a most unexpected love....