Lord Wesley Stanhope, the Duke of Hanningshire hasn’t celebrated Christmas for ten years. Each year when the season comes around, he sends his servants away and spends it in solitude. The pain of losing his parents and elder brother to a fire ten years before is too much for him to bear.

Felicity Cowen is the new scullery maid at the Stanhope Manor. She loves her job because the terms of employment are pleasant. When she finds out that the manor has to be locked up for ten days, she’s in despair for she has nowhere else to go. Sneaking back into the manor after everyone has left is the only option and she finds a great surprise when she does so.

Christmas will never be the same again for the two of them.