When Kate Mathis takes the position of governess for the Earl of Hayesworth's daughter, the determined young woman means to take no nonsense from her new charge or the girl's father, as Kate soon discovers the man has a habit of seducing his daughter’s governesses.
Grayson Bellamy, The Earl of Hayesworth, is used to getting his own way, so, when the new governess spurns him, he puts a price on her head that is so high, every able bodied man is hunting for the young woman and her friend, Lucy Gibson. Garret Layne, an aristocrat with land, but no funds, hears of a bounty of two hundred and fifty guineas for the capture of governess, Kate Mathis. For that amount of money, he has no qualms in hunting the woman down for the reward. When he rescues her from two men who have captured her for the bounty, he takes her to a safe place, until the search for her dies down, so he can turn her over to the magistrate and claim the reward. Or at least that is his plan, but the more he gets to know her, the harder it is to let her go.