The Earl of St. Merryn needs a woman: his intentions are purely practical…He needs a fiancée to keep the husband-hunting ladies of the town at bay. His solution is to hire a paid companion and Miss Elenora Lodge appears to be the perfect candidate. Elenora's sorry financial circumstances convince her to accept the Earl's generous, if scandalous, offer. But the Earl soon discovers that the meek and mild companion he'd initially envisioned stirs a bothersome passion in his heart.