Lady Caroline Duncan has always been an extremely proper young woman who does not step out of societal boundaries, ever. While awaiting an imminent proposal of marriage, Caroline decides she wants to play the sought-after daughter of a duke one last time. She wants a short season of parties in London before returning to her propriety-dictated life forever. She will dip her toe into the invigorating river of rule-breakers, just this once.

It is at this precise moment that Lord Alexander Ravens declares his long-awaited suit for Caroline's hand. Caroline is thrilled to have captured the heart of the handsome Alexander but is hesitant to deny herself a chance at a last adventure. Sharing her desires with Alexander, she is pleased when he grants her permission. With great reservation, he draws up a contract that allows a clandestine betrothal only known about by the intimate family. She can have her freedom within the edicts of proper society. Even the caveat that Ravens will promptly deal with all indiscretions over his knee barely gives Caroline pause.

As the month progresses, Ravens and the rest of her family discover they are not happy with this new Caroline. When pulling her out of scrapes seems to be the new order of the day, Ravens begins to fear that the lessons delivered to her bare bottom aren't enough to bring his beloved back into the folds of decorum. Is Caroline's defiance of the tenets of polite society - and a month of frivolity - worth jeopardizing her fragile reputation and potentially risking a lifetime of loss? Will she estrange her rules-governed fiancé for a little bit of fun?