A very enjoyable story.
Samantha Prendregast is sent out in to the country mountains to be a governess for a Colonel's six children. Knowing she must keep a low profile, her patron who saved her from jail six years before, send Samantha away before her flamboyent cutpurse reputation finds her again and leaves her with a job.
Colonel William Gregory is a military man, but he has six daughters to see to after the death of their mother. Having Samantha around, sets his libido on fire, but the interaction between her and his daughters, wins his heart and opens his eyes that a military upbringing needs some adjustment for young ladies.
William knows he must take a wife, but the woman who meets his list of criterias, does not stir his blood. Having the woman he knows he should choose throw a party to help him catch some Russian spies, he realizes that his best friend is better suited to the woman he should have picked, shile his heart demanded Samantha, even after she tells him her secret of being a former theif.