Pierce Waverly, the Earl of Devonmont, has never forgiven his parents for inexplicably abandoning him to distant relatives as a child.
Nevertheless, when he receives word that the stranger he calls "Mother" is gravely ill, the unabashed rogue makes a rare return to Montcliff, his country estate.
There he finds that the woman is perfectly healthy--and that he has fallen for a cunning ruse crafted by her lady's companion, Mrs. Camilla Stuart. The lively vicar's widow, too bright and beautiful not to arouse the scoundrel in Pierce, is determined to reconcile the Earl and Lady Devonmont.