Florentine art historian Lorenzo di Bianchi comes to Grey House in Gloucestershire still chasing the long silence around his ancestor, the Renaissance painter Matteo di Bianchi.
Lucy Carroway, a bold Regency heiress and the estate's new mistress, has mourned her uncle for seven years while guarding his secrets as fiercely as her independence.
After Lorenzo uncovers a hidden library chamber, she proposes marriage, a practical bargain neither of them expected.
The arrangement is meant to be temporary, yet it offers Lucy the adventure she has always craved and stirs a desire neither can deny.
As their search through three centuries of secrets leads them beyond English libraries and into deeper danger, Lorenzo must decide whether to guard his family's ancient secrets, and Lucy must choose whether the life she wants is worth risking her heart.
