Governess Clare Greenough stands to inherit a fortune, but first she must marry Jamie Boleigh, seventh Baron of Trehearth, and soon enough, Clare's cousin tricks Jamie into betraying Clare, an action that strains their marriage nearly to the breaking point.
Quiet and obliging, Mary Fleming and John Bexley marry to please their families and John immediately leaves on a two-year diplomatic mission. Now John is back, and everything they thought they knew about each other was wrong.