Her brother’s bad-boy best friend needs a wife!

American heiress and champion horse breeder Lacey has always been in love with her brother’s rough-and-tumble, bad-boy best friend. She doesn’t care if Shane is a pauper and a convicted thief, so when she learns he is sentenced to death, his only reprieve hinging on a proxy marriage, she doesn’t hesitate to sign the papers, ship her horses, and head West.

Proud and fiercely independent, Shane hates being beholden to anyone almost as much as he hated being in prison. Years ago, his best friend’s twin sister threw herself at him, a temptation that drove him West to seek his fortune. Now it seems someone wants to take that fortune away from him. Why else was he tried and found guilty for a crime he didn’t commit?

Aware he owes Lacey his life, Shane guards his secrets, determined to find out who framed him so he can prove his innocence and annul the marriage. Then a dead body shows up on their ranch, making it obvious that Shane’s goals clash with whoever wants him out of the picture permanently.

Lacey has no intention of accepting an annulment, and schemes to make their marriage binding in every way. A move Shane finds impossible to resist, even though it means putting them both in harm’s way, and possibly landing him back in jail. Lacey’s move to solidify their union pits the couple against the villain and reveals the secret Shane is hiding. Why has he deceived her? What else is he keeping from her? And how will it affect their future?