When Cassio first met his bride, she called him "sir." Having lost his wife, Cassio is left to care for two young children while trying to establish his dominance over Philadelphia. Now he needs a mother for his children and someone who can warm his bed at night. But in a traditional world like his, choosing a wife is a duty, not a pleasure. The rules must be followed. Traditions are necessary. This is how he ends up with a woman, a girl who has barely reached adulthood. She may not be what he and his children need, but she is wickedly beautiful, and he is unable to resist the sweet temptation.

Julia always knew that she would marry the man he chose for her father. Only she never expected that she would be given to someone much older. Suddenly she has to become a mother to two small children when she has never even held a child in her life. Julia quickly realizes that Cassio is not interested in a relationship of equals. Her mother always warned her that powerful people like Cassio do not tolerate insolence, and yet, she is tired of being treated like a nanny and an ignorant child bride , Julia decides to fight for her vision of a happy family.