Some secrets are buried in sorrow. Others bloom into love.

London, 1850. Raised in the shadow of the city’s soot and sorrow, orphan Beatrice Smith has survived with little more than her wits, her pride, and a locket bearing the name of a family she’s never known. When a mysterious letter invites her to the grand estate of Simpson House in Highgate, she finds herself thrust into a world of chandeliers, secrets—and suspicion.

Groomed as a lady, whispered about as an heiress, Beatrice’s future now hangs on appearances, obedience, and silent loyalty. But one stolen moment of affection at her coming-out ruins it all, and her fall from grace is as swift as it is brutal.

Abandoned by polite society and married off to a gambler, Beatrice must claw her way back from disgrace, poverty, and heartbreak. Years later, haunted by scandal and scraping together survival in London’s backstreets, she believes she is forgotten—until Ned Hyland finds her again.

Once a boy who loved her from afar, Ned has never given up on the girl he met beneath chandeliers and secrets. Now a man with quiet resolve, he’s determined to uncover the truth of her past—and help her reclaim what was stolen.

But some hearts are frozen for a reason. And thawing them may come at a terrible cost…

A richly layered Victorian romance of redemption, resilience, and the power of love to melt even the most guarded heart.