Handsome, womanizing Lord Evan Haddington, the new Marquess of Berkshire, has only recently inherited his title from his deceased uncle. With the title comes wealth, power, social standing, estates, jewels...and Cassandra, the very troublesome and not-exactly-young ward of his late uncle. Saddled with a sharp-tongued woman that he must protect or risk losing his claim upon the marquisate, Evan is also faced with the rather pressing need to take a wife - one who most likely will not care for the rather bossy female already in his life. Miss Cassandra Grove has been called to London to claim her inheritance from her late aunt, the Marchioness of Berkshire. Instead of finding a solicitor at the door, however, she is met by the obstinate new marquess who refuses to turn over a business that is rightfully Cassandra's by law. Still, after a year of living under the same roof while the details are sorted out, she and Evan have finally reached an uneasy truce. However his upcoming wife hunt now threatens to upset the precarious peace the household enjoys. When another man hopes to use Cassandra to strip Evan of his title, both of them come to the conclusion that they must prevent such a thing at all costs - even if it means they both must make sacrifices - including an unwanted marriage to each other. Can they make this tenuous union work or are they - and the future of the marquisate - doomed from the start?