Growing up in far-off India, wealthy young heiress Lady Victoria Arbuthnot is accustomed to handling her own affairs. But in her sixteenth year, Vicky is unceremoniously shipped off to London to find a husband. She may be in a strange new city, but Vicky knows one thing: her own mind. And she has decided that handsome, worldly Hugo Rothschild will suit her needs admirably in the matrimonial department.

But raffish young ship captain Jacob Carstairs disagrees. Vicky is mystified by Jacob's insistence that Hugo is not for her, that is, until it becomes clear that Hugo is not all he professes to be. Not only has Vicky misjudged Hugo, she has misjudged Jacob...and the reason for his interference. Will Vicky be forced to admit that, for the first time in her life, she might actually be wrong?