When spirited Alyssa Paradise unexpectedly inherits her uncle's property in Dorset, she is determined to meet the challenge of running a grand estate. However, there is a surprising condition: every week for six months she must dine tete-a-tete with the enigmatic Sir Giles Maxton, who owns the adjoining land. Alyssa wonders how she will endure this arrangement -- Sir Giles cuts a dashing figure but is positively insufferable!

Although Alyssa soon discovers the warm, generous man beneath his laconic exterior and Giles in turn finds Alyssa beguiling, they fight their growing attraction, knowing they are both promised elsewhere. But when Alyssa is unwittingly caught up in a web of intrigue and revenge, Giles must race against time to rescue the woman he loves...