Boiler Town was an ugly name for a thriving industrial city, a name which belied the many beauty spots in the Ohio metropolis high above Lake Erie. In fact, there was local agitation to give the town a proper name, the favorite being McHenry City. This was logical, since the McHenrys owned the factory that was the city's principal source of employment and prosperity, and their home, Hill Top House, was the mecca for the community's most distinguished citizens.

On her return from a year of nursing in West Virginia, Olivia Margrave naturally gravitated to Hill Top House, where Bill McHenry III was waiting to greet her with open arms. But Bill's attentions were frowned on by Olivia's brother Jack, who warned her that life was not a fairy tale, and that a scion of the royal family would never marry a Cinderella.