It is 1815 and Miss Patricia Vine has accepted life as a wallflower. She is six-and-twenty, and does not think she will ever marry. She looks around at the denizens of high society and cannot help but think they are all hypocrites. They laugh to each other's faces, but shun those who have no money. And Patricia's family is poor. His Grace, Morland Dare, Duke of Yeoland, has recently returned from the war in France. The war has left him bitter. He, too, does not care for high society and its hypocrisies. But his business is intricately tied to the lords and ladies whom he invites to his balls....

Ivy Hodgson Ivy Hodgson's elder sister, Rose, is married to the local clergyman; her you nger sister, Lily, is wed to a soldier. In a desperate attempt to secure their home, Ivy's parents decide she must be married to a wealthy suitor. She is promised to Lord Esmond Letham, a recently widowed older man interested in a young wife who will give him an heir. Reluctantly, Ivy consents and soon becomes Lady of Wisteria Castle, where she finds herself locked in a loveless marriage to a cruel, unfeeling husband. Her world becomes ever darker when tragedy strikes, and she is faced with losing...

Lady Lucia White and His Grace, Roland Casper, Duke of Gracefall, fell in love when they were young and naive. It was a hidden, illicit love. Nobody knew. But he promised to marry her. Then the war with France came, and Roland went away to serve his King. He wouldn't forget her. He promised. The day he leaves is the day her father reveals that their fortune has been lost. They are ruined. Ten years later, Lucia has not received a letter from Roland. She is resigned to a life of spinsterhood. But her mother has other ideas. She wants to marry her off to a sick, wicked, revolting man name...

Lyla Foster She can't reconcile her fate, betrothed to Dorian Price, who happens to be the richest - and in her opinion, least desirable - man in town. She doesn't expect to find love at her status, but she doesn't feel she is asking too much in wanting a say in her own future. Dorian has devilish habits that Lyla feels will make her future unbearable, but she can't make her father, the town doctor, see that a man like Dorian will break her spirit. Perhaps a visit to the tannery can make the difference... Dillon Matthews He came to town to prosper in his own business, but so far, the upper...