Winchester, England, 1812. Unexpected widowhood leaves Miranda Ellsworth a wealthy woman in the prime of life, but she is too busy with her son and stepdaughter and too leery of fortune hunters to marry again. So when her boy’s schoolmate entangles her with his charmer of a father, she is determined to keep her distance, no matter the unfamiliar emotions which assail her.

As a younger man, Colin Wolfe married to please his family. But now that heaven has called his wife onward and his son has gone to school, he intends to enjoy his liberty. The only problem is, his son seems to prefer another family to his own, and Colin can’t stop thinking about the quiet woman at the center of it.

Avoiding each other proves impossible when Miranda must play chaperone to her stepdaughter and the dean’s flirtatious granddaughter, but she refuses to compete with younger women for Colin’s attention. Can Colin convince the respected Miranda he has her best interests at heart and that his admiration has grown into far, far more?