The wedding-night death of her much older husband - and one tiny lie - left Tess Townsend the Dowager Duchess of Wansford. Now she and her two best friends run King & co, London's most discreet investigative agency. Longing to taste the physical pleasure she's never experienced but unwilling to risk her hard-won independence by marrying again, she realises a scandalous offer from the handsome new Duke could be the answer to her prayers . . .

Cynical shipping magnate Justin Thornton never expected to inherit a dukedom, but he'll do his duty. He'll marry some suitable chit, set the duchy to rights, and return to his old life within the year. So when the ravishing woman he kissed at a party turns out to be the Dowager Duchess, Justin makes the most logical suggestion: a year-long marriage of convenience - and passion - that will suit them both.

The attraction that sparks between them is undeniable, but as Tess works on a new case at the behest of Queen Charlotte, her increasingly suspicious behaviour makes Justin question her motives - and her past. The infuriating woman clearly can't be trusted, but Justin doesn't believe in love, so there's absolutely no danger of him falling for his own wife . . . is there?