When her devious step-father attempts to force her into marriage with someone three times her age, Allegra Temple makes a desperate attempt at escape. All she wants is London and safety. Horribly sick with the grippe, the Earl of Wyndham wakes up in his traveling coach to find her--a young female stowaway--carrying a black kitten. He thinks he’s waking up from a bad dream, but when she speaks, he knows he has landed in a great pickle. The unlikely couple is spotted by one of society’s grand hostesses and Wyndham knows he has to do the right thing and marry the chit. However, Allegra does not want to have anything to do with an arrogant lord who is in love with someone else, and who doesn’t care a fig for her. He finds her sunny heart and high spirits difficult to resist, but how can a romance that was doomed from the start, blossom?