Sophie St. Clair sneaks out of her aunt's house to check out an abandoned house with a romantic history. Centuries ago, the house was home to married pirates. Sophie is a writer, but always under a masculine pen name. Her grandfather publishes her articles in a London newspaper. Her family wants her to pursue activities that are more suited to a lady.

That night Sophie has trouble sleeping and thinks she sees the harbor lights at the wrong place on the shoreline, which would mean any ships coming ashore would be in danger of crashing. When her aunt and uncle don't react to her distressed warning, she sets out on foot, thinking to find someone in the village to help her. Somehow she gets lost in the thick fog and ends up in a small church where she meets the Earl of Wycliffe.

We first met the charming Chad Rutherford, Earl of Wycliffe, in Allison Chase's first book of the Blackheath Moor series, Dark Obsession. Now Chad is drawn to Sophie with a fierce passion and protectiveness, even though he doesn't feel worthy of her because of his past role in the smuggling ring. But Chad proves himself to be a true hero in every sense of the word. Together they'll uncover the sinister secrets hidden in and around Edgecombe.