The Daily Courier may not have the prestige of The Evening Review, but Archibald Beaumont is still seeing red when its pages dredge up a twelve-year-old scandal linking his late mother to none other than the Duke of Ravensby, Leopold Blackthorne. The sordid tale of a liaison and betrayal, now displayed for all to see, leaves Archie seething. Determined to restore his family's honor, he resolves to confront the infamous duke and make him pay for his callous treatment.

The perfect opportunity arises during the Duke's famed Twelve Days of Christmas celebrations, where a fencing tournament promises to be the centerpiece. Archie, hailed as the finest fencer in Ashford by none other than his fencing instructor, is confident he can defeat the Duke and make him beg for forgiveness.

But what Archie doesn't anticipate are the complications: discovering the Duke to be far more handsome than he imagined, finding himself under Leopold's tutelage in fencing, trading kisses instead of blows, and ultimately falling for the very rake he vowed to disgrace.