Peter Hale is a young attorney struggling to make his own mark in his father’s venerable law firm when he is presented with the opportunity of a lifetime. During the trial of a multimillion-dollar case, Peter’s father, the lead counsel, suffers a heart attack and asks Peter to move for a mistrial until he’s feeling better. Peter decides this is his only chance to prove to his father that he is the terrific lawyer he knows himself to be, and he chooses to carry on with the case against his father’s wishes. In his zeal to prove himself, Peter neglects his client and ends up losing everything—the case, his job, and his father.

Unemployed and disinherited, Peter takes the only job he is offered—that of a public defender in a small Oregon town. He hopes that if he can make good there, he can reinstate himself in his father’s good graces. But his ambition again gets the best of him when he takes on a death-penalty case, representing a mentally retarded man accused of the brutal hatchet murder of a college coed. He’s in way over his head, and it’s only when Peter realizes that his greed and his ego may end up killing his client that he begins to understand what it really takes to be a good lawyer—and to become a man.

They have no choice but to break all the rules. Hopefully their hearts will avoid the same fate…

Millicent Strong has no time for the nobility and their nonsense. Making sure her shop is ready for Christmas requires her full focus. So, when a brooding, battle-scarred lord shows up making ludicrous claims about her being the daughter of a duke, Millicent’s tempted to send him away. But there’s something about him that keeps her from saying no…to anything he wants…

Gabriel is desperate. The only way to rescue his sister from a marriage worse than death is to use Millicent as leverage against her vile father. The last thing he expected was for her to cooperate with his wild plan. And her offer to bring in The Kidnap Club? Even better. Now all he’ll have to do is figure out how to stop kissing his oh-so-willing victim…

But a fake kidnapping can lead to some very real—and problematic—feelings. When all is said and done, Millicent and Gabriel will need a lot more than the magic of the holiday season to make it to happily ever after…

If you adore rags to riches love stories, brooding heroes who are certain they are beyond redemption, and a heroine determined to fight for what’s right, you’ll love this Christmas mystery tale!

Content warning: Mentions of sexual assault.