Clarisse Matthews still grieves the tragic loss of her fiancé and doubts she'll ever love anyone again. Particularly if she has to divulge the secret abolitionist ideas she keeps hidden deep inside that only her beloved knew. After the lady Luke Williams loved spurned him and married another man, he will never risk giving his heart to another woman. Especially not to Clarisse who had to have known about her best friend's ruse and helped the woman to conceal it from Luke. He doesn't need a lady by his side to manage his family's plantation or forge a path to become an attorney. But when Luke's cousin is deceived by a rogue, who only Luke and Clarisse know the whole truth about, they form a reluctant alliance to protect his cousin. Their feigned attraction grows into genuine love. But will the differences between them become a wall too tall to climb or can they find a way to go around?.