When a senseless tragedy, crumbling estates, and looming debts left Benedict Montgomery no choice but to marry a title-hunting American Heiress, he did his duty to his family and walked willingly to the altar. Wed to a woman he never wanted, he made sure that his new wife was under no misconceptions; her romantic personality was distasteful, there would be no expectations of fidelity on either of them and there would, under no circumstances, be any love between them. When illness forces him to retire to the country, he opts for the one property where he is sure his wife won't be. Except that she is and she is just as unbearable as ever, with her endless optimism and romanticism. So why is it that Benedict feels lighter than he has in years every time she smiles at him? And why indeed does he long to see her again once they part?

A horrible carriage accident made Minerva Montgomery a Duchess to the world's most infuriating, selfish, cold man. A man who dashed all her expectations of a loving marriage and then left her to her own devices to return to his bachelor life in London.

Six years later, jilted by her lover and faced with the inevitable ridicule of the ton, Minerva has no choice but to leave Hertfordshire for her beloved estate far away from the scorn of the ladies of the most influential families in England. Resolute to not fall into despair over her recent humiliation, she dedicates her entire energy into establishing the new orphanage she had built and helping the children find their futures. Not once does she expect to return home to find her extremely irritating, absentee husband in residence! He is just as insufferable and audacious as ever, so what is it about him that raises her instincts to peel away his layers and find the man he has hidden underneath? Why does his sadness rob her breath and make her long to comfort him?

Soon, it begins to feel like what was meant to be an unpleasant time was actually the beginning of something momentous.