Mysterious, brooding, and horrifically scarred, Raphael de Chartres, the Duke of Dyemore, has spent his adult life in exile from England. When he returns home after his father's death, he's enraged to find that the Lords of Chaos are still active---and holding their revels in a ruined abbey on one of his estates. The members wear masks during their ceremonies, so Raphael must join the secret society in order to destroy it from the inside. All of his plans are in place, until he catches a glimpse of that night's sacrifice. Iris Daniels, Lady Jordan, has been mistaken for a duchess and kidnapped by the Lords of Chaos. But before they can torture and kill her, a bag is thrown over her head, and she's dragged into a carriage. She has the presence of mind to struggle out of the bag, search the carriage, and find a pistol under one of the seats. When the door opens again, she shoots her attacker, only to discover she might have made slight mistake.

The man she just shot was the Duke of Dyemore, and he was rescuing her. Iris takes it upon herself to nurse Dyemore back to health, and hidden away in his hunting lodge, they begin to fall in love. But Dyemore can't give in to his feelings, not until the Lords of Chaos are destroyed and Iris is safe.