1914 – Rosemary Gresham has no family beyond the band of
former orphan-urchins that helped her survive as a girl in the mean streets of
London. Grown now, they are no longer pickpockets—now they concentrate on stealing
high value items and have learned how to blend into upper-class society. But
when Rosemary is given an assignment by a mysterious Mr. V to determine whether
a certain wealthy gentleman is loyal to Britain or to Germany, she is in for
the challenge of a lifetime. How does one steal a family’s history, their very
name?

Peter Holstein is awkward at best in society. Stuttering and
stammering as he does, no one ever would have expected him to gain the ear of
the king…and given his family’s German blood, he knows there are plenty who are
unhappy that he has, which is why his popular series of adventure novels are
written under a pen name. With European politics boiling, Peter settles into his
country estate debating whether the time has come to distance himself from his
German roots and perhaps even change his name as the King is considering doing—and
when a historian shows up at his door offering to help him trace his family
history, he views the bookish Miss Gresham as a gift from God. Perhaps she can
help him find proof that the Holsteins have always been friends of England and
the Saxe-Coburg family that rules there. And perhaps they can manage it before
suspicion in the small village he calls home reaches a fever pitch and sees his
family home ruined.

The more Rosemary learns about the Holsteins, the more
she thinks Mr. V sorely mistaken in his suspicions…and the more she comes to
hate herself. These are a noble family and this a noble man—and though she
always thought she’d do anything for pounds sterling, she finds herself
fighting against the rabble trying to ruin him when war is declared rather than
lending them a hand. Especially when she discovers that he is the writer behind
the books that have inspired all of England. She doesn’t have it in her to
steal his good name…but what are the chances that she’ll manage to steal his
heart before he discovers who and what she really is?