For Royce Van Cleef, earl of Tewkbury, marriage is a very simple matter. Rather than waste time and effort courting, one must make the intended bride become the pursuer. When his friends scoff, he proposes to put his theory to the test by winning Lady Laurel Simmons. She is beautiful, well-bred, and sharp-tongued -- an exceptional challenge for any man.

But Lady Laurel catches wind of Royce's foul scheme. Annoyed beyond words -- a rare state for her -- she decides to best him at his game. Before the season is over, she vows, Royce will be the one chasing after her. Now enthralled with ploy and counterploy, Royce and Laurel are making and breaking the rules with wild abandon -- until neither can admit the game has become heartbreakingly real.