Kate Malvern, rescued from penury by her aunt Minerva, hardly knows what do expect at Staplewood-the grand household is so very different from a life spent following the drum in the Peninsular! But surely, other households are more homelike? Kate`s uncle lives in one wing, her 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 her in instant dislike. . .