In which the strict conventions of Scottish high society impose a rigid tutelage upon young women, shaping matrimonial designs and familial alliances with little regard for personal affection, while the machinations of Lady Ashton intensify the pressure upon her daughter to forsake a contested engagement. Amidst whispered rumours and intercepted correspondence that sow suspicion and despair, the gentle Lucy Ashton finds herself ensnared in a web of intrigue and relentless domestic constraint that darkens her spirit and health.