Sir Mark Hayward had sworn never again to cross paths with Belle Cavendish, for though she was the daughter of his liege lord, the young she-devil had been the plague of his boyhood. But when Brandon Cavendish offered to make him a landed knight in return for rescuing his precious Belle, Mark could not refuse.

With such a prize at stake, how hard could it be for a clever knight to spirit one young woman away from her captors? How hard, indeed! For the ungrateful Belle refused to leave. And suddenly the simple rescue had become a full-blown invasion, with mischief and mayhem and a devious plan to ride the castle of all its vermin at a haunted banquet one Halloween night!