The year is 1812 and Britain is at war with America. In London, Dylan St. John is the most handsome rake in the Regency's tight-knit aristocratic circles. Deemed Heartless St. John, he's also the American heir of the Duke of MacAllister. Everyone in society knows these two facts. No one knows he also works as a spy for the new American Commissioner of Peace. He's the darling of Mayfair and the prime catch of the Marriage Mart. He swears he'll never be caught in parson's mouse trap. In Savannah, Rory Windsor vows never to marry, as well. A Christian, she's busy running an orphanage for children of mixed heritage. She wears britches, rides astride, and manages her family's shipping business. No stranger to tragedy, she makes a black mourning bead for each person she loses. She wears them as a necklace. Miss Windsor has far too many black rose pearls. She's considered a beautiful bluestocking and a pesky social reformer. He needs her help to discover who in Savannah is smuggling guns to the Loyalist Creek Indians. And he'll do anything to bend her to his will. Even use his much vaunted charm. Rory isn't interested in making a splash in society. An innocent, she suspects she's drawn to Dylan St. John in a way that can't be virtuous. But she agrees to pose as his betrothed to help him save lives. Rory just prays she can guard her heart. And she prays she won't be forced to make The Last Rose Pearl.