John Fitzhugh Wyckerly has been the spare heir all his life, supporting himself with gambling and charm. The news that he's inherited the bankrupt title of Earl of Danecroft shatters his indolent world. Even penniless, he's always paid his debts, but now the estate's creditors are closing in. He can fake his death and run for cover...or accept overwhelming responsibility and find a rich wife-one who will also accept his illegitimate terror of a daughter. On his way to find an heiress, he meets Abigail Merriweather, who is neither rich nor aristocratic, but she can tame The Terror and stomp cockroaches. Unfortunately, she needs a wealthy, powerful man who will fight her father's executor and retrieve her four half-siblings. When an unexpected inheritance falls into Abby's lap, she sets out for London to seek a lawyer. Can Fitz charm his practical Abby into trusting him to save her siblings when it's doubtful that he can even save himself? And can Abby surrender reason and logic for the folly of love offered by a man who can have any woman he wants but insists he wants only her? "Rice is a master storyteller ...A wonderful blend of humor, pathos, adventure, and charm, this page-turner is book one in Rice's promising Rebellious Sons series." Shelley Mosley, Booklist -a top ten romance for 2010