"Mrs. Iris Rumford has always felt out of step with the rest of the world. It was made so much worse however, when she lost her home, her mother, and her mothers groundbreaking botanical research all in the span of a week. Now, having found a place in the Wimpole Street Widows Society, she is beginning to heal from those great losses-until she learns that her mothers work was not destroyed in a fire but was in fact stolen by her greatest adversary. Worse, that man is about to publish that research as his own. Iris must locate her mothers papers and stop the thief at all costs. If only a certain handsome guard didnt constantly get in her way, threatening her plans and tempting her in ways shes never experienced before. After a scandal that cost him his job as a Bow Street Runner, Oliver Beckett has spent the last year struggling to provide for his mother and sister.

Just when hes at his very lowest, a job practically lands in his lap. The position, to guard a lords precious botanical collection, seems too good to be true, and Olivers instincts scream at him that something isnt right. Even so, he cannot afford to turn it down. He tells himself it will surely be an easy job-who would wish to steal a bunch of plants, after all? But the suspicious appearance of a beautiful, petite, maddening woman throws his plan for a quiet, simple future right out the window. Iris cannot allow her burgeoning feelings for Oliver to interfere with the recovery of her mothers work. Oliver cannot allow his growing desire for Iris to destroy the safety of his family. But when the two find themselves constantly thrown together, their resolve is tested-as well as their hearts"-- Provided by publisher.