The quest to break a mummy's curse turns dangerous when a peer ends up dead. Miles Lawrence Hawkins, fifth Earl of Archewyne, is alone and the last of his line, save for a young daughter, and he's made peace with that...Yet unexpectedly finding an attractive female thief in his library gives him doubts. Drawn into the lady's insane plot to retrieve various stolen mummies from around London-including the British Museum-he accompanies her merely to see what will happen next. Being captivated by her quest and intrigued by her talent for skirting the law is a much needed distraction from the stress of his own life's misfortunes. Lady Emmaline Darling, skilled thief and only child to the Earl of St. Ives, is under a mummy's curse. Believing herself damned due to her father's penchant for removing antiquities from Egypt, she's vowed to return a pair of mummies to their eternal resting place in order to save his life and her own. Being caught by Miles wasn't in her plan, and neither was falling for his charm, but she'll do anything to see he's free of the curse as well, for their histories are too intricately connected for his ills to just be bad luck. When a peer with ties to them both ends up dead and Emmaline's jewelry is found at the scene, Miles is honor bound to offer for her and lend her his protection. Despite her refusal, desire pulls at them and scandal surrounds them, and when Miles is summoned to once more embark upon a secret mission for the Crown, he must shed everything that will become a liability, but keeping Emmaline out of trouble-and out of his mind-is easier said than done.