Will the effects of the past destroy their future?
At the tender age of fifteen, Tom Fulwood, the future Earl of Standish, discovers that marriage can destroy a man, including his own father. His mother entertains men in her bedroom while her husband sits downstairs, unable or unwilling to respond to his wife’s improper behaviour. From that day on, Tom vows that no woman will hurt him in that way. Over the next seventeen years, Tom ensures no respectable woman would seek to marry him as he becomes one of the most notorious rakes London society has ever seen.
No one gained the affections of the future Earl of Standish, since few were brave enough to try.
Twenty-four-year-old Isabelle Crawford knew how much in love her parents were and had expected to find similar happiness when she came out in society. The reality was somewhat different. Instead of love, she found fortune hunters and, disenchanted with the marriage mart, she left London to seek her independence.
A potential marriage between Tom’s sister and Isabelle’s brother throws the spirited couple together, and sparks fly! It sets in motion a chain of events that will see Tom fighting for his life and Isabelle’s reputation ruined beyond repair, but refusing a proposal which will save her. But can she leave behind the man who she loves?
