At the close of a disappointing London Season, Lady Juliette Devereaux accepts an invitation to a September house party in Sussex without much enthusiasm. Although she is heiress to the vast country estate of Chaceley, she has received no offers of marriage-and cannot imagine why. Known for her decisiveness and common sense, Juliette views marriage as a necessary arrangement, yet her search for a husband to help her run Chaceley has so far been fruitless. If she would only listen, her closest friends could tell her that her pragmatic approach to marriage isn't very fashionable-and neither are her clothes, for Juliette's brilliantly-hued gowns reveal a stubborn individuality and an unwillingness to follow anyone's council but her own.

When the Marquess of Barham arrives in Sussex at the same house party, he is deeply in debt and has been banished from his ancestral home-and stubbornly refuses to do anything that might be considered remotely sensible. Juliette's prompt dismissal of the Marquess only piques his interest in her, and her refusal to consider him only complicates matters when it turns out he has a very practical answer to her problems-and his own.