Trapped by duty -- and the demands of his cruel,unyielding father -- Lord Gabriel Sinclair, the dark and moody Earl of Wakefield, is being forced to find a bride. But 31 year old Gabriel plans an exquisite revenge on his cold-hearted parent: wedding the sultry, low-born Yankee wench who tried to steal his watch. Ragged and beautiful 18 year old Cassie McClellan is desperate to escape her life of poverty -- and, therefore, willingly accepts the handsome, arrogant aristocrat's offer of marriage in name only. But neither is prepared for the awakening passions that will bind their fragile, damaged hearts -- or the blistering, sensual need that comples them both to surrender body and soul.