Colonel Lord Marcus Cordell returns to England after 20 years at war to confront his greatest challenge. Charged by the mysterious fellowship of the Black Phoenix to track down a killer, he must ally himself with Society's most fashionable lady. But behind the cool eyes of the elegant beauty burns a fierce rage... directed at him.

Lady Eve Halliday swans through London ballrooms with an empty heart, masking her loneliness with a dazzling wit. Only the summons to adventure stirs her blood -- until she learns the identity of the man who is to partner her. At last the enemy she has never met is within her reach. Retribution is at hand.

Feigning a betrothal, the two follow a confusing trail through the exclusive estates where a murderer stalks the haut ton -- and makes Eve a target as well. But the real danger lies in the trap she has set for Cordell. For as she draws him into her web of deceit and betrayal, his seductive passion overwhelms her bad intentions and turns love into the greatest hazard of all.