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Gillie Trewlove knows what a stranger´s kindness can mean, having been abandoned on a doorstep as a baby and raised by the woman who found her there. So, when suddenly faced with a soul in need at her door-or the alleyway by her tavern-Gillie doesn´t hesitate. But he´s no infant. He´s a grievously injured, distractingly handsome gentleman who doesn´t belong in Whitechapel, much less recuperating in Gillie´s bed . . .

Being left at the altar is humiliating; being rescued from thugs by a woman-albeit a brave and beautiful one-is the pièce de résistance to the Duke of Thornley´s extraordinarily bad day. After nursing him back from the brink, Gillie agrees to help him comb London´s darker corners for his wayward bride. But every moment together is edged with desire and has Thorne rethinking his choice of wife. Yet Gillie knows the aristocracy would never accept a duchess born in sin. Thorne, however, is determined to prove to her that no obstacle is insurmountable when a duke loves a woman.

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