William Trevaron is a man of honor, so when his ex-fiancee falsely accuses him, he lets everyone assume the worst and leaves England for Virginia. After six years, Maggie Carter, who helped William when he first arrived and has her own secrets, is in need of help herself. Newly widowed, she has three small stepchildren and no way to support them. When William, a duke's heir, is summoned to England, he asks Maggie to marry him, but their marriage of convenience almost doesn't happen when William is stabbed and left in an alley to die. It never occurs to him that the attack is anything other than a random mugging, but it is, and Griggs keeps the reader guessing about the identity of the villain until the very end. Both a spunky American with three kids and an arrogant cat make an instant family for a man who would rather ruin his life than break a promise in Griggs' engrossing tale of guilt and self-acceptance.
