Following the death of her glamorous mother, forthright Maeve Barrington receives an unexpected visitor - her long estranged father, an uncouth country squire, who breaks the news to her that she actually has a sister, an identical twin. His quandary now though is that timid retiring Meg has gone missing after she was forced to become betrothed to their neighbor, the dashing Lord Lynley. Maeve reluctantly agrees to take Meg’s place, to keep the engagement alive, but once she does so, the distinct change in his fiancée’s personality starts to intrigue Lord Lynley.