Eric catches an intruder in his house in the act of stealing a pair of antique sterling silver candlesticks. Dashing in and waving a shotgun he yells at the intruder to 'freeze' and remove his hooded ski mask. But when the mask comes off it reveals shoulder-length dark brown hair framing the pretty and very frightened face of a young woman. The girl is identified as Stephanie and she pleads not to go to jail as she is the sole caregiver for her invalid mother. Feeling sorry for her, Eric negotiates a deal and persuades the police to let him deal with the miscreant by giving her a whipping once a week until he judges she has been sufficiently punished. But neither Eric nor Stephanie envisaged what their growing mutual attraction would lead to...

This book also includes the following short stories: Order of the Golden Gavel; Shopping at the Thrift Store; The Job Interview; and Earning a Promotion.