PAUL TALBOT, Viscount Leed, is set on avoiding the marriage trap. Though his family has money troubles he won't marry an heiress and dance on her leading strings. LADY MICHELLE THOMAS is a spirited heiress, piqued with the rules of Society which dictate that a woman must be seen and not heard. And if she has opinions on politics or finance? Well, she had best keep them to herself. Sparks fly when she meets Paul -she believes she's found a man interested in more than her face, form and finances. They wed but when Paul refuses her generous dowry she'll do anything to see her money settled on him, even if it means going to his rival and putting more than his career in jeopardy.