In this thrilling romance from award-winning author Sara Portman, the illegitimate son of a nobleman and a woman on the run chase their fate on the London Road . . . According to his father's terms, Michael Rosevear's duty is to be ignored-until such time as he is useful. Now that the earldom is in need of funds, Michael is to be sold off in marriage to the daughter of a crass but wealthy merchant willing to pay for any connection to nobility-even one from the wrong side of the blanket . . . En route to his fate in London, Michael does not plan to board an extra passenger. Yet there is something in the young miss's desperate plea that tugs at his conscience-though he is certain her story is a fabrication . . . Juliana Crawford has fled her father's cruel home. Using a false name to evade pursuit, she must find a private traveler with whom to complete her escape. Chance matches her with a dark and wounded young lord who guards his own secrets just as carefully. The unlikely pair embark on a journey filled with revelations and unexpected adventure-one that may lead them to question whether to part at their destination-or change course entirely. . .