Nicole Aldridge, daughter of England's most acclaimed jockey, Nick Aldridge, whisks her father into hiding to protect him from blackmailers who have threatened his life for refusing to throw a race. Desperate to keep her father safe and the two of them fed, Nicole dresses as a boy and answers an ad addressed to her father by the Marquis of Tyreham. As Nick's "protégé," she wins the position of jockey, hired by the marquis to run the race of a lifetime: the celebrated Epsom Derby.
Dustin Kingsley, Marquis of Tyreham, renowned as a thoroughbred breeder and the ton's most sought-after bachelor, is restless, empty -- until he meets the beautiful stranger sitting by the Thames. Determined to win Nicole's heart, Dustin plunges headlong into the ominous mystery eclipsing their future, hell-bent on convincing Nicole that he's the only man for her.
An impossible masquerade, a never-to-be-forgotten Derby, and a cherished wishing locket propel Nicole and Dustin toward a climactic finish, where danger threatens a love destined -- by wishes and fate -- to prevail.