The town of Granby could hardly be more excited at the news that Ferndale Manor is to be opened again and that its new owner, Mr Mainwaring, is both wealthy, handsome and single. In particular, Miss Cecily Rowe and her parents view the visiting party with their eyes firmly set on matrimony -- for who should deserve to be the wife of such an elegant young man more than pretty sixteen-year-old Cecily?

Only one member of the Rowe household does not share their high spirits. Elizabeth Rossiter, born a lady but forced to seek employment as a governess, has tasted the delights of suitors and parties in a former existence in London, and now wishes only to be left alone and unobserved. But events conspire against Elizabeth as local society embarks on frenzied activity once more, bringing her face to face with the one person she wished never to set eyes on again: Robert Denning, Marquess of Hetherington. The man who six years earlier told her he loved her ... and then broke her heart.