Chessi Reynolds is a survivor. Born illegitimately to a duke and a servant, she witnessed her father murder her mother and barely escaped the same fate herself. She spent the remainder of her childhood in an orphanage before being sent to a London workhouse. Rather than work in the deplorable spike, she escaped and began a life on the streets where she developed a friendship with a thief who taught her the skills she needed to survive. When she and her friend become caught up in a web of intrigue involving an emerald pendant, Chessi crosses paths with a man who will change her life forever.Sir Matthew St. John has it all-a successful business, wealth, and London's most beautiful women at his beck and call. He thinks his life is complete until Chessi robs him of his grandfather's watch in broad daylight. She escapes with the family heirloom but their paths cross again when she robs him of yet another family treasure in order to save her friend. When he finds her hiding in his home, he forces her to work for him to get the stolen item back. However, the longer he is in her presence, the more he is drawn to the resourceful thief and now fears that she will steal something even more priceless...his heart.