"Anya Marleigh is a singer and sitar player in Queen Charlotte s court. She is left a fortune by Dowager Countess Budleigh, one of her elderly clients who used to hire her for musical evenings. But there is a condition attached. Anya must marry before her next birthday if she wants to see any of the fortune. The executor of the will is an insufferably conceited man who must consent to her marriage--if he doesn t give his consent, the fortune reverts to him. But Damian Ashton is only part of the problem. The Budleigh family see Anya as a usurper. They believe the fortune is rightfully theirs, and they will do all in their power--including accusing Anya of murder and Damian of some dubious and criminal dealings--to get their hands on the fortune."--