IF THE GENTLEMAN WAS NOTHING BUT A COMMON THIEF, WOULD HE STEAL HER HEART AS WELL? Desperate to avoid her father's odious matchmaking scheme, Miss Eliza Osborne boards the Brighton coach for a visit to her beloved aunt. She quickly realizes, however, that a lady traveling alone is prey to all sorts of unsavory characters - and none so unsettling as Mr. Garrick Slaughter, just released from Newgate Prison. This gaol-bird, however, turns out to be quite the gentleman in convict's clothing. He is, in fact, the illegitimate son of a local lord. But Eliza's adventures are just beginning. There's an unhappy younger brother, an overbearing mama, and a diamond of the first water to whom both brothers seem enamored. In the middle - or muddle - of it all, is Miss Eliza, whose heart is about to be stolen... but whether by a thief or a gentleman remains to be seen...