Poor little Susie Burke. A beautiful dreamer, she imagined herself happy in a rose-covered cottage, only to find herself mistress of a great damp castle and wife to the elderly Earl of Blackball.

Luck, not the lecherous earl, contrived to spare her. She was a wealthy young widow on her wedding night. But her trials had just begun. The old countess was determined to turn the simple miss into a sophisticated lady... while handsome Sir Giles Warden was determined to unmask her as a dangerously cunning minx. Sweet, naive Susie. Luck had brought her a fortune she'd never wished for, but what happy accident could make her innocent dreams of love come true?