Garrick Winter is unexpectedly summoned to return to his childhood home. His father dead; he arrives to find his narcissistic mother unchanged, his sister imprisoned by duty, and the family's finances in ruin. Seemingly his only option is a financially beneficial marriage; problematic for a man who has spent seven years disparaging the institution.

To be offered for marriage to a man seeking only to use her to recover his family's finances, Eva Gale is faced with a troublesome decision. Deny the proposal, if offered, or obey the wishes of an aunt and uncle of modest means who raised her without once taking advantage of her inheritance.