""I am in awe of her talent.""â Julia Quinn
In the fifth installment of USA Today bestselling author Julie Anne Longâs charming Palace of Rogues series, a rakish spy finds more than he bargained for in his pursuit of an earlâs enchanting runaway fiancĂ©e.
The mission: Find the Earl of Brundageâs runaway fiancĂ©e in exchange for a fortune. Childâs play for legendary British former spymaster, Christian Hawkes. The catch? Hawkes knows in his bones that Brundage is the traitor to England who landed him in a brutal French prison. Hawkes is destitute, the earl is desperate, and a bargain is struck.
Fleeing a savagely shattered dream, the sheltered Lady Aurelie Capet finds refuge in an alias and the warmth and kindness of the Grand Palace on the Thamesâuntil a gorgeous, mysterious disturbance to her peace literally topples through the door.
An unexpected, fierce desire that feels destined, dangerousâand devastatingly sweetâignites between the sheltered beauty and the jaded spy, and as they slowly unravel each other's shocking secrets Hawkes closes in on the truth about the earl. Soon itâs clear they can have no future without vanquishing the past: Hawkes knows that loving her means avenging her. Aurelie knows that loving Hawkes means freeing him to do that, no matter the cost.