Benedict St. Claire, the newly minted Earl of Danford, has just returned to England after traveling abroad for the last two years. He fully expects the responsibilities of being an Earl to be heaped upon him when he returns, but what he doesn't expect is that his three childhood friends, Griffin, Marcus, and Warren, will make his re-entrance back into polite society anything but comfortable.

Forced by blackmail into accepting a bet from his friends, Benedict is required to dress as an unfashionable half-wit. And while his foolish appearance may certainly amuse them, they are not the ones he is required to impress. Part of the wager entails that he get the lady of their choosing to fall in love with him and become engaged before the season's end, no easy feat to do when the lady of their choosing happens to be a diamond of the first water and the daughter of a duke.

Lady Gillian is entranced with her first season in London and flattered by all of the attention she is receiving, but when the unfashionable Lord Danford begins showing interest, she must decide if what is in a man's heart is ultimately more important to her than his outward appearance and reputation. Can she learn to look past society's high standards and judge her unconventional suitor for what he really is on the inside: a man who fascinates her while igniting her with a passion she never knew existed?