No scandal has cast a shadow over the Capel family for at least three generations. So when Verney Capel is forced to resign from his regiment, his family are not very pleased - especially when he plays fast and loose with the affections of Harriet Piper, a local heiress. Harriet longs to be loved, but she is unable to compete with fascinating Julia Johnson. There is some sort of mystery about Julia, but by the time it begins to come out she has married into the Capel family, and what can be done to stave off disaster? Harriet ventures into the fray and makes some astonishing discoveries...