Elizabeth Thornton is left all alone in Georgian England after losing her parents in a tragic accident, so she travels to Cornwall to live with her kindly, older, and very proper Aunt Judith. Soon, however, she begins to suspect her aunt of hiding something nefarious. Determined to learn the truth behind the strange goings on, she sets out on a quest for the truth. A quest that leads to danger, and trouble with the law, and a very handsome smuggler with a firm hand and smoldering, sexy eyes who is as determined to keep Elizabeth safe as she seems to be to put herself in harm's way.

William is growing tired of the smuggler's life of danger and instability. If he can just finish his last run, he can give it all up and finally settle down, find love, and start a family. But he already has a preventative officer hot on his heels who is determined to end his career and throw him in jail – or worse. The beautiful, headstrong Elizabeth is a complication he does not need. But she, too, is hot on his heels – and irresistible. Now he must avoid capture, and find time to discipline this woman with an appetite for adventure, who seems determined to steal his heart.

When these two are together passions ignite, sparks fly, and danger lurks around every corner. Can Elizabeth and William avoid the law? Will they finally find the happiness that has so long eluded them both?