Jocelyn Tolliver grew up thinking her sheltered life in European boarding schools was financed by her mother's couture business. But when she returns to her dying mother in England she learns her mother is the infamous madame of London's notorious and elite Crimson Belle brothel. On her mother's deathbed she swears to care for the Belle and its ladies. A naive virgin and bookworm, Jocelyn transforms herself with the help of her mother's loyal butler, Ramis, and the illusion is complete. After seven years, she is a prisoner of deception and known to the world as the reclusive Madame DeBourcier.

A misunderstanding puts handsome and wealthy Alex Randall, Lord Colwick inside the brothel where he becomes intrigued with its Mistress and is determined to win admittance to her bed. When a deadly feud breaks out between the Crimson Belle and a rival brothel, Jocelyn realizes that with a titled lover she will gain political clout to protect her housemates, so she agrees to become Alex's friend. But, of course, he views this as an invitation to seduce her, the most beautiful and sensual woman in London.