Possessing neither fortune nor beauty, Cordelia Stansbury seems doomed to spinsterhood until the machinations of her mother land her in a locked room with the rich and highly desirable Gervaise Valerian. He is forced to propose, but, aghast at what her mother has wrought, Cordelia runs away. When she returns after supposedly having been shipwrecked and living with savages for a year, Gervaise refuses to go through with the wedding. His uncle then attempts to force Piers Cranford to take his place, but Piers (the twin brother of Peregrine, hero of Never Doubt I Love) has his eye on a refreshingly straightforward young neighbor named Mary. --Booklist