Inés Valeztena, daughter of a powerful noble family, and Cárcel Escalante, cousin to the crown prince, have been engaged since they were six years old. Their long-delayed marriage has been the talk of high society for years, and although her fiancé is the empire's most notorious playboy, Inés seems inexplicably content to keep the arrangement. In fact, she encourages him to do whatever he pleases even after their wedding, as long as they maintain order among the nobles. What the gossips--and Cárcel--don't know is that Inés has plans for her marriage of obligation, and they have nothing to do with love. But when Cárcel suddenly declares he is ready to reform his rakish ways, marry immediately, and prove to Inés that he is worthy of her true affection, she must keep her wits about her or risk losing everything she's spent lifetimes of heartache and desperation to obtain.