For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage in the late 1890s, debutante Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city's most eligible bachelor. But when a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is, and gossip backlash turns ugly, Clara realizes it's not just her heart at stake-- the future of her family depends on how she plays the game.

"Elaina Walker has waited for her childhood sweetheart to return from the Napoleonic Wars for eight years. At five-and-twenty, the pressure to marry well is mounting, despite being unable to forget Will, the Duke of Blackmore's second son. Will Winter doesn't care much for his father's qualifications for a proper wife. When he returns to England and sees Elaina again, he knows he must have her, despite her meager dowry and precarious standing in society...