Neither Sir Tristram Shield nor his beautiful young cousin, Eustacie, share the slightest inclination to marry one another.

Yet it is Eustacie's grandfather's dying wish, made on his deathbed.

For there is no one else to look after and provide for Eustacie while his heir, Ludovic, remains a fugitive from justice after allegedly murdering a man in a dispute over a priceless family heirloom.

And so the hunt is on - to find Ludovic and bring him home as well as the Talisman Ring ...

Romance, a murder mystery, a proposed marriage of convenience, and the hunt for a golden ring lie at the heart of one of Georgette Heyer's funniest and fastest-paced romantic comedies to date.