With a murderer hot on her heels, becoming the greatest treasure in a bored aristocrat's collection may be Jemima's only hope of survival.
Blue-stocking Jemima Percy envisioned a quiet, reclusive life of research. But the glittering world of the demimondaine becomes her refuge after she flees her father's murderer, an unknown, ruthless, antiquities collector who will stop at nothing to get his hands on Jemima's ground-breaking discovery.
With one honourable saviour dead on her account, Jemima can't afford to let down her guard - or lose her heart. The only way to stay safe is to trust no one.
Not even the handsome philanderer, Lord Ruthcot, who wants to make her his mistress as he secretly tries to fulfil his dead brother's final wish: to secure the safety of the vulnerable bluestocking spinster whose name he does not know and who has vanished into thin air. An enigma who holds the key to a discovery he knows threatens her life and whose safety will restore his honour.