Victorian romance laced with danger. When a brooding English earl with a Slightly Tarnished reputation marries his dead wife's American cousin to save her from an uncle's vengeful schemes, the sea captain's daughter with a taste for adventure sparks desires he thought long dead. Nicole Keller has always been headstrong and independent, but after a failed business venture and a sinking ship take her father, her home, and her childhood sweetheart, Nikki must support herself and her mother. But moving to England and marrying Chadwick Masters, Earl of Gilchrest isn't what she has in mind. And falling in love with the mysterious earl could endanger both their lives.