At the time of the French Revolution, Maxine de Rochefort who lost her whole family to the guillotine, was rescued from France by her English cousin, George Lidiard. Dressed as a boy, she was taken to George's home, but he was so mean-fisted that he would not provide her with a chaperone and so she remained with him, masquerading as a young man. Now, at the age of twenty-two, Maxine realizes she can hide no longer, and must finally become a young lady. She refuses to marry George, is joyfully re-united with the brother she thought she had lost, and meets gentle Sir Rupert Wootton in rather unusual circumstances. But George soon proves that he will go to any lengths to marry Maxine and she understands that a decision must be made: between Sir Rupert's kind 'regard' for her or the odious but passionate attentions of her cousin.