The dashing Duke of Selchester is on his way to visit Lord Upminster at Copple Hall when a stagecoach crashes into his own travelling carriage, buckling its wheel.

Worse still, his beloved pedigree stallion, Salamanca, needs re-shoeing.

Arriving on foot at the nearest village, he finds a beautiful Verena Winchcombe, who agrees to take him to the local blacksmith.

It transpires that she has been awaiting the arrival of someone she calls 'the Odious Duke', who is due at Copple Hall. With horror, the Duke realises that she is talking about him so he introduces himself by his rank as Major Theron Royd instead of his noble title.

Verena confides in the Duke about strange goings-on at an old, perhaps haunted, Priory and he agrees to investigate with her. During the visit, he is bludgeoned unconscious by a mysterious assailant.

Awaking at Verena's home, he realises that there is much more to this feisty but beautiful young woman than meets the eye as she helps nurse him back to health after serious wounds to his head.

Unaware of her the stranger's true identity, Verena begins to fall for the Duke and the two find themselves embroiled in a perilous adventure with murdered bullion thieves.

An action-packed adventure story, with a classic regency romance at the heart, a tale perfect for fans of Julia Quinn, Georgette Heyer and Lisa Kleypas.

British author Barbara Cartland wrote over 700 novels and was most famous for her contemporary and historical romances. A prominent figure in London society, the young Cartland began her writing career as a gossip columnist for the Daily Express. It was partying in 1920's London that gave her inspiration for her first book, Jigsaw, a racy society thriller.

After marrying into the McCorquodale family, she began writing romance and holds a Guinness World Record for the most number of books published in one year: 191. Her books have been translated into many different languages, as well as adapted for stage and screen. She is beloved the world over and even counts the young Princess Diana as one of her many fans.