Deirdre Darrington's widowed father marries unexpectedly. Deirdre accepts her new family, only to be crushed when she discovers the man of her heart, Clive Shadbourne, is engaged to Phoebe, the elder of her stepsisters.

After Clive goes off to war still unwed, the Darrington family is invited to Harmon Hall, where all three young women meet Edward Fox, who will one day be Lord Harmon. A notorious rake, Edward sets his sights on both Deirdre and Phoebe—not for marriage but for dalliance.

But what will happen when Clive returns to London, traumatized by the wound that left him with an ugly scar?