Fleeing the attentions of the handsome and commanding Marquess of Darkefell, Lady Anne Addison arrives on the doorstep of a dear friend seeking nothing but rest and relaxation, but soon finds herself putting her investigative talents to work after a sighting of the Barbary Ghost. Always a skeptic of the supernatural, Lady Anne immediately suspects the apparition is nothing more than a diversionary tactic to conceal smugglers on the beach below her friend's house.

When the beguiling marquess follows her to Cornwall, Anne is distracted from her ghost hunt by his alluring kisses, until murder gets her attention. Forced once again to work with the marquess to uncover the truth behind a mystery, she soon discovers that her passionate attraction to him has not abated. Should she run from him again, or give in to temptation?