A standalone Regency romance — part of the Austen Seasons collection of swoon-worthy retellings.

Smugglers rule the waves and love may wreck the Dashwood sisters on the rocks.

Devonshire, 1813. Exiled to a cliff‑side cottage shuddering beneath cannon fire, sensible Elinor Dashwood and her impulsive sister Marianne are about to discover that smugglers ply more than contraband along the rugged shore. Elinor must steer her family’s survival while yearning for Edward Ferrars, now a naval spy hunting a ruthless cartel. Marianne tumbles into midnight rides with the poetic John Willoughby, ignoring whispers of his lethal cargo. When violence crashes ashore, both sisters must choose between propriety and perilous passion.

Willoughby’s treachery nearly costs Marianne her life, until a scarred former privateer, Colonel Brandon, hauls her from the surf and reveals the smuggling ring’s darkest secret. Elinor races to decode Edward’s intercepted letters before the cartel’s cannon turn on their cottage, while Marianne grapples with a heart torn between reckless desire and hard‑won trust. Storms batter the coast, pistols spark on moonlit beaches, and every kiss could be their last shot at freedom.

On a shore where loyalty is contraband, will love deliver salvation—or sink them all?