In 1880 Hong Kong British espionage agent Phin Granvillle is working his case out in the cold before coming home to retire from field work. However, his mission turns ugly when he is poisoned. His mission turns divine when wealthy American Mina Masters nurtures him back to health.

Four years later in England, Mina is being forced to accept a marriage she does not want. Soon afterward her mother vanishes. Mina believes her mom's abduction is related to her odious ruthless stepdad's gun-running. She pleads with the retired Phin to rescue her mother and uncover the traitor against the throne while secretly hiding from him her hope he asks her to marry him as she still loves him even more than when saved his life.

This super late Victorian romantic suspense is fast-paced from the onset and does not miss a beat as the persistent Yank drags the reluctant retired spy back into the cold. Their escapades in the field together make for an amusing investigative romance as she rips his skin with words while he retorts with verbiage and kisses in a terrific gender war. With ties to BOUND BY YOUR TOUCH, Meredith Duran provides her fans with an exciting action-packed romantic thriller in which the combatants are on the same side (hate to see what they would have said to one another if they were adversaries).

Harriet Klausner