Princess Adeline Ashford arrives in Sicily only to have her passport destroyed and find herself delivered to Vera Moretti, a young mafia godmother who declares that Adeline will be her wife. The British royal family has traded Adeline away to cover up a violent crime committed by her brother, Edmund. Vera, meanwhile, needs a royal bride to escape an arranged alliance with the Falcone family. When Edmund sends assassins after his sister and uses scandal to destroy her reputation, Adeline agrees to a fake marriage for protection. Their rules are simple: no real feelings, and no intimacy.
But the rebellious princess and the ruthless godmother soon discover that their attraction is harder to control than their enemies. Arguments turn into flirtation, and repeated brushes with death draw them closer. After Bianca Falcone has Adeline kidnapped and offered at an underground auction, Vera storms in and rescues her. Their arrangement becomes a passionate romance, even as Vera continues searching for the girl who saved her life twenty years earlier. When Lucia Carrington appears claiming to be that girl, she drives a wedge between the lovers. In reality, Lucia works for the Falcones and uses a bomb threat against Adeline to force Vera into a rival engagement.
To protect Adeline, Vera agrees to marry Bianca on the condition that the Falcones abandon Edmund and leave the princess alone. Heartbroken, Adeline prepares to leave, but discovers that Vera's treasured silver dagger is her own
