Charlotte Wicks wanted more. Running her parents' Shanghai household and caring for her sick brother was necessary drudgery, but a true 19th-century woman deserved something deeper -- her body cried out for it! Through a Taoist method, her friend Joanna Crane had reached Heaven on Earth, become a Tigress, found true bliss. Why should Charlotte be denied the same? She'd seen the scrolls. All she needed was guidance.

Her mother would call her wanton. Wicked. She would label Charlotte's curiosity evil, and invoke divine judgment. Certainly the teacher Charlotte desired was fearsome. Glimpses of his body inspired awe: flutters in the stomach and tingling in her core. And with the dark command she saw in his eyes, this door that they opened might never be closed. The man had a reputation among the females of the city as a ruthless seducer... but also as a bringer of great pleasure. There was only one choice to make.