Set in the lush, exotic locale of Hong Kong in 1860, innocent Angelica meets not so innocent Viscount St. Alban. Equally intrigued with each other, the rogue and the ingénue try to fight a growing attraction amidst a dangerous plot of revenge and secrets.

The characters and the setting are the strongest parts of Ms. Carroll's novel. From the beginning, the reader is captivated by the strength of the locale. The Victorian Era amidst the backdrop of the exotic China provides a contrast equaled by the dashing St. Alban and the innocent Angelica. It doesn't hurt that St. Alban is a testament to why women love Rhett Butler, either. The dashing bad boy who teases the heroine to challenge herself and her own beliefs while in the decadent, lush Hong Kong is one of the reasons we love romance novels.

The plot, however, is too complex for the size of the novel. There are too many subplots that by themselves would have made a fine novel, but all at the same time ended up distracting me from the chemistry. For instance, the first ¾ of the novel were devoted to wrapping up the many plotlines and secondary characterization, leaving only the last 50 pages to introduce and resolve the conflict of consummation of the sexual relationship itself—in a book labeled as erotic. It was not until I got to that point that I realized it wasn't a “sweet” Victorian novel.

Ms. Carroll's characters come alive, and the setting was vibrant and an integral piece of the novel. Her only flaw is trying to write too many good ideas into too small a space.

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