Are liquor, candy, a privateer, and a confectioner the ingredients for a sweet deal? After Captain Edward Poulsen buys his ship, Caton, at a naval auction, he accepts his first consignment as a privateer-to transport tubs of brandy from France to Cornwall. There the brandy will be let down and colored with caramel syrup, a process done by a confectioner in the small village of Swain Cove. Curious to learn if Caramel and Sons is even a legitimate concern-Edward is fairly sure there's something fishy going on-he pays a call on the shop, only to discover there are no sons-only a lovely young woman who stares at him in wonder. When a handsome stranger arrives at her candy shop, Catherine Bristow is stunned. She'd been imagining someone like him might enter her life one day, and she greets him with a passionate kiss. Once she recovers from her embarrassment, Catherine offers to show Edward the operation, eager to prove she and her father can do the job for which they've been hired. Impressed by the candy maker's skills, Edward soon finds he's sweet on her. Will his new responsibilities in London sour their burgeoning relationship or merely sweeten the deal? It seems smuggling isn't the only secret in Swain Cove.