She is not interested in - or in any need of - a husband.
He is as reluctant to take a wife....

Lady Lewisham is an independent woman of means who has just emerged from her year of mourning.

Her late husband, Edward, has ensured she is financially comfortable for the rest of her life and has little to worry about. But as a young, beautiful, single widow (with an intelligent mind to boot), it seems she is a target for unwanted attention from ill-fitting suitors and mindless tittle-tattle from the gossip-mongers.

Feisty Sophie is a far cry from the usual timid, conventional woman befitting 19th-century society, however - in short, she is a breath of fresh air - and is not afraid to speak her mind. Nor does she suffer fools gladly. So when her husband's cousin, Lady Renfrew, invites her to visit London, she is delighted and uses this opportunity as a springboard for her much grander trip to Europe with her companion, Miss Trew.

Little does Sophie know, however, that when she encounters the handsome but devout bachelor Sir Philip Bray, her life is about to change. Although neither have any time or inclination for romance, their paths cross in England, France, and Italy.

Could Sir Philip be the hero she thinks she does not need or want?