Michael, Earl of Danesbury, is being hounded to marry Lady Alice Randall, a woman he does not love. Even the prince of Wales is determined to force him into marriage.Fleeing to his dilapidated ancestral castle for the first time since inheriting his title, Michael hears a girl singing and immediately falls in love. The girl is Bettina, daughter of an eccentric major who happens to be a genius with garden plants and herbs.Determined to put the castle gardens in good order, Michael hires the major and finds himself becoming more and more enchanted with Bettina. But Lady Alice comes in hot pursuit, determined to use her powerful connections to snare him. His only hope is to enlist Bettina's help, and together they take an extraordinary gamble—one that can only succeed if it is protected by love.