In Lord Hugh Davenport’s opinion, women of the ton perpetually hide behind a mask of deception. That’s hard for Lady Ellie Albright to swallow – especially since she’s disguised herself as a stable hand to get back the prized stallion her father sold Hugh to pay a debt. If Hugh learns her true identity she’ll lose the horse and her family will go bankrupt. Somehow, though, giving up Hugh’s love is starting to seem worse.

The flock of insipid debutantes Hugh's mother invites to a house party, bore him. Instead, he's captivated by an enigmatic stable hand who swears she’ll never marry. The harder he presses her, the more she urges him to wed Ellie Albright, the silliest goose in the whole unappealing lot. What Hugh desires is a strong, independent woman who can hold her own and who cares about something other than the latest hat styles. And that’s just the type of woman he's never going to find in his mother’s parlor…