Tormented by a dark secret, Julian LeFevre, Duke of Claridge, is a notorious and dissolute rake. His half-hearted attempt to reform his character has left him bored to death. To relieve the tedium, he wagers a friend that he can mold any pretty trollop from the London streets into a lady who'll pass muster with the ton.

But Hannah Gregory is no biddable lump of clay. She has solemn gray eyes, a rebellious streak -- and is deaf from a long-ago accident. And although she conceals her real past, she can't conceal her attraction to the scoundrel who offers her a small fortune that could pay for a new medical treatment.

The charade might heal her, but it also might break her heart -- if she forgets that this dark and dangerous duke is well past the point of redemption.