Isabel Radcliffe knows she must marry well. As the daughter of a merchant who has risen at court, many opportunities are within her grasp - and marrying a Lord is one of them. When her father hosts nobility over the Twelve Days of Christmas, she knows she will meet the man he wishes her to marry, and begin the life that has been laid out before her. What she does not expect is for him to be quite so old or quite so unpleasant. Suddenly, the duty binding her to such a life-changing decision feels like too much of a sacrifice. And when her head and heart are turned by the dashing and daring stable lad Avery, she questions whether she can follow through with her father’s wishes.