Meredith Burnley's family has been devastated by the death of her father. Her sister, Annabel had been in poor health but seemed to be feeling better. Now, her uncle has moved his family into their home and Annabel has taken ill again. When her aunt lets her know that Meredith must marry her cousin or Annabel will be sent to an asylum, Meredith determines that she and Annabel will escape.

Meredith approaches Annabel's grandparents. Annabel's stepmother was cut off when she married the son of a factory owner. When Meredith approaches General Stanton, he tries to throw her out of the house. His nephew, Stephen Mallory, Marquess of Silverton, and his grandson, Robert, calm the situation down and bring in Lady Stanton.

Lady Stanton agrees to take on Annabelle to introduce her to the ton. She insists that Meredith join her in the debut. Meredith and Annabelle are established in their own home since the General is adamantly opposed to his wife helping the two girls.

The Marquess and Robert Stanton set out to protect the girls from their uncle. The more Stephen learns about Meredith, the more impressed he is with her courage and strength of will. As they learn more about her uncle, the more concerned Stephen becomes. His determination to protect her surprises him.

As events unfold, Stephen and Meredith will discover there is much more to her uncle's plans. His desparation will put both Annabelle and Meredith in danger.

An interesting and more convoluted plot than I expected, Ms. Kelly has done an excellent job of writing a story which will keep the readers coming back for more. While Annabelle and Robert were nice secondary characters, the Marquess and Meredith were the most interesting characters. Other than Meredith's distressing to break down in tears occassionally, she was a strong character who handles nearly everything thrown her way. Ms. Kelly is an author to watch for.