Violette Poole, engaged to a man she hates, flees her father's home the night of her engagement party. When her father asks family friend Captain Ethan Carrick to look for her, Ethan finds her. However, Violette refuses to go anywhere with him until he makes love to her, ruining her in the eyes of her fiancé.An afternoon of passionate lovemaking leads to a deeper bond between them and Ethan refuses to return Violette to a man she doesn't love, especially the man he holds responsible for his brother Charles' ruin. However, Richard Graves, the fiancé, is a fiercer opponent than they expected.It falls to both Charlie and Ethan to find new and wicked ways to "ruin" Violette! And when they do, she doesn't want to live without either of them!