On leave from the SEALs, Arlo "Scarecrow" Porter heads home to Red River Parish, Louisiana to care for his recently widowed mom and come to terms with his dad's unexpected death. He'd asked Scarecrow to come home because he wanted to reveal a secret to him, but Scarecrow couldn't make it in time. Before his dad passed, he'd been raving about their next door neighbor who had leased some of his parents' land to grow chilies. He finds the owner and grower of Puckerbottom Peppers is beautiful and secretive and very British, Scarlett Jones. His warrior attention piqued and his protective instincts on alert, he intends to discover all her dark secrets. MI-6 operative, Scarlett Jones had gone off the grid. She’d heard about sweet talking, rough around the edges Arlo Porter, but when he shows up on her doorstep with his slow, southern accent and his instant suspicious demeanor regarding her intentions with his parents’ land, she can’t trust anyone. His suspicions are founded, but she’s given up everything to reclaim her family’s heirlooms that were stolen when her small Russian town had been ransacked by a sadistic rebel leader. She needs to keep this dangerous man close. What she doesn’t bargain on is this man with his deep, penetrating eyes and warrior attitude will challenge everything she’s believed in her whole life. She’d never been a damsel in distress, but she can’t seem to resist those strong arms and his protective nature. Can there be a happily ever after for her with this man?