The Duke of Death comes alive... Against all the odds, the sickly Jack De'Ath has survived into adulthood, a semi-mythical joke that Society has never met. Until the day he decides to escape his stifling guardians for a holiday. Tabitha, the Dowager Countess of Sark, is fully enjoying the freedoms of her widowhood when she rescues an unusual but charming young man who has just been robbed on the king's highway. The unworldly Jack and the only too worldly Tabitha form an unlikely bond of attraction and understanding. Only Tabitha is the stepmother of the girl he is expected to marry. Adventure and romance are exhilarating, not least at the dangerous inn where French people are smuggled into the country with illicit brandy. Jack risks finding his feet at a country house party full of matchmaking mamas and rivals for Tabitha's love. But is he really able to deal with both their ruthless families in order to win their happiness?