Lady Isabel Chalsey is the perfect daughter in the perfect family with a high probability of a perfect future. That is until she interrupts a robbery in her home and the thief leaves her with a kiss. The next day Isabel discovers the identity of the man and she's intrigued. She loves to solve puzzles and this man is perplexing. Isabel blackmails him into teaching her to ride in order to study the man. He does not radiate danger. Instead, he teaches her to ride and lose her childhood fear of horses. His presence in her life shows her the truths that she always believed in are not true.

Sullivan Waring, an aristocrat's unacknowledged son, is a respected horse breeder with an impeccable reputation. He returns home from war to find that his father has stolen and sold his late mother's paintings. Wanting justice and to inflame his father, Sullivan begins stealing the paintings. When a young woman blackmails him into riding lessons, Sullivan agrees and enjoys the game and challenge she presents. Unwillingly, he falls in love with her and for the first time resents being invisible to the aristocrats.

Isabel faces her own conflicts as she confronts society dictates. Is she willing to give up everything for love? If she does, will she resent Sullivan in the future for all that she's lost? Sullivan believes she will and attempts to convince her she has no future with a thief.

Ms. Enoch begins a new series with back-to-back stories in her Notorious Gentlemen trilogy. With expert development of her characters' emotional turmoil, Ms. Enoch delves into their desperation as they struggle with an intolerable choice.