Kate Malvern, rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, hardly knows what to expect at Staplewood — the grand household is so very different from a life spent following the drum in the Peninsula.

          But surely, other places are more homelike? Kate’s uncle lives in one wing, handsome, moody cousin Torquil in another; though the guests are few, even family dinners are formal. And, when Kate begins to suspect the shocking reason for Minerva’s generosity, she has no one to confide in but cousin Philip — who appears to have taken an instant dislike to her….