Unprincipled, power-hungry careerist Melanie Akers is going to run for high government office, but for this she needs the image of a respectable mother of the family. She uses blackmail and threats to take the child away from her ex-husband Gregory. The only thing that can save Gregory is starting a new family. Convinced from the bitter experience of living with Melanie that a wife is a noose that, once thrown around the neck, turns into a Gordian knot, the hero of the novel considers a fictitious marriage to be the only acceptable option. And he offers a mutually beneficial deal to the first woman he meets...

Note 2021: Published under the pseudonym Ella Warner, but written by Emma Darcy.