When notorious rake Anthony Bridgerton announces that he has chosen a prospective bride, he faces unexpected opposition when his intended's meddlesome sister Kate decides to protect her innocent sister from the wicked aristocrat.

Fiercely independent and adventurous, Poppy Bridgerton will only wed a suitor whose keen intellect and interests match her own. Sadly, none of the fools from her London season qualify. While visiting a friend on the Dorset coast, Poppy is pleasantly surprised to discover a smugglers' hideaway tucked inside a cave. But her delight turns to dismay when two pirates kidnap her and take her aboard a ship, leaving her bound and gagged on the captain's bed....

Secretly drawn to her best friend's brother for years, Penelope Featherington believes that she knows everything about Colin Bridgerton, until she stumbles upon his deepest secrets.