Woman Arabella Blydon has beauty and a mind, and she’s sick and tired of men who can easily see only one with no other.

When a suitor tells Arabella he’s willing to overlook her appalling bluestocking tendencies due to her looks and fortune, she decides to take a break from the Marriage Mart. During an extended stay in the country, she never needs to meet Lord John Blackwood, a wounded battle hero who intrigues her like no other man.

Lord John has lived through the worst horros of battle…but nothing could have been as terrifying to his tormented heart as Lady Arabella. She actually is intoxicating, infuriating…and she makes him wish to live again. Abruptly he’s writing bad poetry and climbing trees and shrubs in the pitch-dark night…just therefore he can dance with her simply because the clock strikes midnight. And even though he knows he can never be the sort of man she deserves, he can’t help wanting her. However when the harsh light of time replaces the magic of midnight, can this tormented soul learn to like again?