Queen Victoria's top assassin, Lord Alexander Stokes harbors his fair share of dark secrets. Chief among them his membership in an elite brothel. When a damsel-in-distress appeals for his help, he ponders the consequences, yet her similarity to his first love intrigues him. He offers to help her with a single condition: that the beauty consents to be his chattel for an entire year. Given no choice, Julia agrees to his terms. Anything is better than going to the gallows for a murder she did not commit, especially when the real killer is stalking her. Despite her misgivings about being the masked man's chattel, his raw masculine power lures her in like a hawk to her falconer. Can they learn to trust one another and live long enough to know true love?