Laura Adams, a young foundling, is taken in by Lady Danville who gives her affection and an education. Lady Danville's handsome son is less sure about his mother's project, but busy with country pursuits, including a intermittent courtship of his glamorous neighbor Caroline Venner, does not seem to pay Laura much attention. Caroline's rakehell brother though, and another friend, are entranced by Laura's rare beauty and vie for her favor, to her disgust. When Laura is kidnapped and disappears, Lord Danville finds that Laura has become more important to him than he had acknowledged.