When Captain Scorer died in action his wife Eve was obliged to seek refuge with her cousin Julia. Treated as a poor relation and pursued by Julia’s admirer, Eve is thankful when escape is offered through the bequest of a book shop in Clerkenwell.

What she does not know is that Colonel Jason ‘Blazes’ Ballantyne, her husband’s commanding officer, has been ordered by William Pitt to make enquiries concerning a code book that has been left in the book shop by French spies. In order to do this, he exaggerates the nature of an injury sustained on the voyage home from Egypt.

A mixture of incidents and rumours convince Jason that Eve’s reputation is dubious; but that does not prevent attraction flaring between them.

Subsequent events oblige Jason to revise his former bad opinion of Eve; but will he succeed in discovering the code book; and will Eve forgive him when she discovers that his injuries are largely assumed?

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