When the gentleman highwayman known only as the Theif Kidnaps Lady Thrift Landly from her carriage, she is confident her family will ransom her quickly. To her great shock, her father's reply to the ransom demand is to say that he is unable to pay and that he is confident Thrift will be gently treated during her captivity. She is further angered when the Thief implies that the Landlys---Thrift's widowed father and he four younger sisters---must be relieved to be away from her, since he has seen how strictly she rules their lives. Her captivity promises to be an extended one when she recognizes the thief as the wealthy Lord Caufield, even though she acknowledges the justice of what he is secretly doing. Since she knows his identity, he has no recourse but to take her with him when he must go to France. There he is posing as a French nobleman, and passes Thrift off as his young sister. In reality Caufield is a spy for England. Against her will, Thrift finds that she is falling in LOVE with the darkly handsome nobleman, and he seems to return her feeling. But the hazards of his double masquerade, the enmity of wicked Duke of Balstrode and Trift's own impulsive nature spark this lively romance with a generous drama and danger.