Clare Winchester is living in reduced circumstances with her aunt. By chance she encounters a young woman who has run away from home to escape her uncle and guardian, who she believes to be an overbearing tyrant, even though she has not yet met him. Clare soon realizes that the uncle, Lord Northrop,who turns out to be both handsome and charming, is nothing like what his niece believes him to be and agrees to help chaperone her for a London season.