In 1844 at a party, undercover spy Nicholas Wright seeks a female traitor so he cuts a deal with one of her minions, Campbell. Overhearing the transaction is widow Charlotte Sinclair, daughter of the recently retired spymaster and Nicholas' former boss. Campbell wants Charlotte dead immediately, but Nicholas tells him this is not the place and he will take care of this intrusion.---

Nicholas and his partner Sam abduct Charlotte to keep her safe. As the plot boils and the danger increases, Charlotte takes risks too feeling she is a chip off the old block having recently read her father's journals. Nicholas finds himself panicking over her safety as he has fall in love with her; she reciprocates his feelings but wonders whose side is he really on?---

This engaging Victorian romance, the second in the "Spies and Lovers" series, is a fabulous espionage love story that takes readers for quite a ride once Charlotte is discovered. The story line moves at a fast pace as Charlotte tries to escape as she believes her kidnappers will dispose of her at the first convenient moment. Worse to this feisty young woman is that she is attracted to Nicholas though she vowed never again after a brutal marriage. That odd relationship makes for a terrific historical.---

Harriet Klausner