Spirited Emily Gibson has been looking after her family since her father died, but debts are mounting. She decides she must marry for money and writes asking her estranged grandfather to select a suitable suitor. The man the Earl of Westerham chooses is her cousin, but he is the last person Emily would have picked for herself

The Duke of Rochester marries Lady Isobel Drummond in order to obtain an heir. She marries him to save her family from financial ruin but also because she's fallen in love with the dissolute duke. Alexander, Lord Bentley, realises how much he loves his wife after he has driven her away by his objectionable behaviour. Can he convince Isobel he is a changed man? Can Isobel forgive the man she once loved?