Meet Our Hero . . . Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to ruin his inheritance. The sole key to Gareth's future lies in an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past. But it's written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word. Meet Our Heroine . . . All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She's fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken, and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there's something about her that grabs him and won't quite let go . . . Or don't. But rest assured, he's spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual-and annually discordant-Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth's every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary. But as they delve into the text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other . . . and that there is nothing as simple-or as complicated-as a single, perfect kiss.