Threatened by extortionists, disowned widow Emily Spenser has little recourse until the Earl of Cheverley, captivated by this unusual shopkeeper, comes to her aide. Emily cannot repay the Earl's expenditures not in coin. But having learned through bitter experience not to trust the largesse of powerful men and desperate to stay hidden from the father-in-law who would take away her son, she seeks to cancel her obligation to the highly visible earl immediately, little realizing a "fleeting" affair will lead to something much more.