When Laurel Sutherland and her sisters were young and residing with their uncle on their country estate, Princess Victoria was a frequent playmate. Their ties with Victoria end when she begins preparation to become queen. When their uncle dies, Laurel and her siblings inherit a bookstore and live a quiet and predictable life. Then Victoria re-enters their world begging a favor. Her cousin, George Fitzclarence, is talking treason. Would Laurel pretend to be a wealthy widow, befriend George and discover how deeply he is involved in the plot? She warns Laurel to evade George's friend, Lord Barensforth, a know rake and troublemaker.

Aidan Phillips, Earl of Barensforth, works secretly for the Home Office uncovering financial frauds and keeping tabs on George Fitzclarence, an unhappy illegitimate son of the late king. George's talk of treason has never amounted to anything, until he befriends a suspected traitor. Alchemy, fraud and the murder of a magistrate send Aidan scrambling to discover the extent of George's dealings. One young widow steps in his way. Aidan wishes he could solve the secrets that swirl around Laurel, but she is a distraction he cannot afford.

Laurel enters a world foreign to her. Opulence and intrigue surround her. The one man she was warned to avoid draws her like a moth to a flame. They both harbor secrets and neither will reveal their task.

In her new series, Ms. Chase delves into the political intrigue surrounding the early years in Queen Victoria's reign. She maintains a perfect balance of history, mystery and romance that promises further adventures with Victoria's secret confidants, the Sutherland sisters.