Evangeline Benedict is vexed to learn that her mother is marrying for the fourth time—or is it the fifth?—while Evie has yet to wed even once. Worse, her mother's latest is a duke whose brother, Lord Gareth Armstrong, unwittingly ruined Evie at a masquerade ball, leaving her with memories that still make her ache with desire. Meanwhile, Gareth thinks the notorious widow now betrothed to the duke is the masked woman with whom he enjoyed a steamy encounter while seeking a traitor to the Crown. But her bewitching daughter is the one who stirs his passion and tempts his soul.