Douglas Bennet accepts a wager to discover the true identity of Lady Constance, author of the infamous erotic serial Fifty Ways to Sin. Author Madeline Wilde dismisses him as just another rake, but he surprises her-- instead of merely trying to seduce her, he becomes her friend, her confidant, and her lover. With her livelihood depending on discretion, she risks her happiness and the pair becoming the biggest scandal London has ever seen.

"In 1939, thirteen-year-old Poppy is forced to evacuate her London home and flee to a grand country house on the coast of England. Alone and frightened, she arrives with only a set of clothes, a gas mask, and memories of the family she left behind, whom she may never see again. But the cruel inhabitants of the house make life a misery for her, and she longs for the love she once took for granted. The years pass, the endless war rages on, and Poppy...

Intent on nursing his old friend Martin Easterbrook back to health, Will Sedgwick kindly kidnaps him and takes him to the countryside to recover, well away from the world, all while Martin tries to decide how to tell Will that he's loved him all his life.