Sterling Mabry, the eighth Duke of Greystone, may not be an actual devil, but he’s definitely hiding a deep, dark secret.  Frannie Darling, once a child of the streets and a member of Feagan’s infamous pickpocket gang immortalized in Charles Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist, now works as a bookkeeper at a well-known gaming hall.  When the secretive Duke meets the luxurious redheaded commoner, they realize that a legitimate relationship with each other is impossible.  She wants no part of the aristocracy, and Sterling knows he must marry a woman of his own social stature. Even so, they both toy with the idea of an illicit romance.

Frannie maintains her relationships with the former boys of Feagan’s gang and travels in an entirely different world than Sterling.  Because of their financial disparity, she enlists Sterling’s help in making her dream come true: running an orphanage for homeless children who were abandoned by their families.

Although Frannie has issues with the aristocracy, Sterling has even more problems to handle.  He finds himself falling in love with a commoner, gets beat up by her friends in order to discourage their budding relationship, endures a guilt trip every time he and his sister are together, and finds himself the victim of thieves regularly breaking into his mansion.  In addition, he’s still got that dangerous secret to conceal.  It’s not easy being the devilish Duke of Greystone.

Lorraine Heath’s creative story embellishes some of the characters set forth in Dickens’s classic novel.  In her third novel in this series, the passionate romance takes full advantage of the setting, time period, and customs of London’s past.  Reading the other novels in the series isn’t necessary to enjoy this one. This entertaining novel is filled with interesting characters, unexpected plotlines, truly romantic encounters, surprising action, and underlying danger.