As unconventional as she is rich, American heiress Marianne Addison isn't exactly the kind of girl an Englishman takes home to his mother. No wonder Alasdair Braden is smitten. By age nineteen, Marianne has conquered the nouveau riche circles of San Francisco, surveyed the males on offer, and decided to look elsewhere. Armed with her daddy's millions, a dazzling smile, and western fortitude, she sets out to take England by storm. Alasdair Braden has seen Marianne Addison's brand of mischief before. She waltzes too fast, rides too recklessly, and eats too much at dinner (sometimes with the wrong fork). Worst of all, she speaks her mind freely and without restraint, perhaps the quality that persuades Alasdair to take a rowdy wager after Marianne's latest social oversight. Could he turn her into a genteel lady ready to be accepted by English Society? Alasdair's wild bet to tame the Season's madcap takes on far more personal importance than he'd intended. What started out as a lark to divert attention from his financial situation now turns dire. He needs to marry well and quickly to sustain his family's influence and finances. His mother has had the neighboring earl's perfect English daughter picked out for him since he was twelve. She has the breeding and fortune necessary to sustain the family s needs...unless Alasdair can come up with an alternative. Marianne is his last best hope of escaping this marriage of convenience. But it just may be that Marianne is also his only hope for love.