The desire to take a chance and snatch at happiness.
Being dared to kiss a man in the moonlight is all well and good, but men and moonlight do not fall from the skies at will.
Until they do.
Under instruction from a friend, drab Alice Dowding lingers alone on a moonlit balcony. Not the most sensible course of action for a usually sensible girl. Yet being sensible has gained Alice a seat among the wallflowers and her only likely chance of marriage to a man she finds nigh on repulsive. 
Something must be done.
A guilty conscience and a bad man.
When Nathaniel Hunt’s sister begs him for a favour, he can hardly refuse. Nathaniel, part owner of one of the most scandalous gambling dens in London is responsible for Matilda’s tattered reputation, and she knows he is no position to deny her anything. 
When she begs him to kiss her mousy friend on a moonlit night, however, a chain of events is set in motion that none of them could have predicted.
When a little favour ignites an inferno.
Ignited by one soul-stealing kiss, mousy, sensible, dull Alice, is setting off sparks wherever her feet touch the ground, and all Nathaniel can do is pray he doesn’t get burned.