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...