Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW. "A ray of summer sunshine! Jill Barnett has concocted another charming tale filled with witty dialog, plenty of humor and a sprinkling of magic."

Most English girls meet their heart's desire across a crowded ballroom or in a genteel parlor. Letitia Olive Hornsby finds hers when she knocks him into a river. A curly-haired, blue-eyed hellion of only eleven, she decides even then that Richard, the dashing, handsome, and totally disreputable son of the Earl of Downe, is the white knight of her dreams.

Richard expects his life to be boring and restful once he's home, but after a chance encounter with the meddlesome Letty and her obnoxious dog, Gus, he discovers there is no rest for the wicked. He soon finds himself captive aboard a smugglers' ship with an adoring young woman who is a walking catastrophe...and her enormous clod of a dog.

Never missing a beat, she gets them into one hilarious predicament after another before Richard realizes that she might be the one woman who can save his black soul with a faith in him that is bright enough to burn the shadows from the darkest heart. If he can survive....