Lara, the beautiful red-headed daughter of Lord Hurlington, a country Parson, is horrified to hear that her friend, Jane, is on the verge of a breakdown after being horribly pursued by the lecherous Lord Magor, a regular guest at The Priory, the fabulous stately home of the Marquis of Keyston, to whose niece Jane is Governess. Determined to teach Lord Magor a lesson and to seek out ideas for the novel she is writing about contemporary Society, Lara takes Jane's place as Governess to ten year old Georgina. But, although Lord Magor is every bit as predatory as Jane had described, the Marquis is awe-inspiring, handsome and, as she soon discovers, much kinder and considerate than she or Jane had ever imagined. Just as Lara realises that she has fallen in deeply love with the Marquis, the wicked Lord Magor traps her in a locked room. Only her great-grandfather's duelling pistol can save her. And on the spur of the moment, it seems that Lara has killed her cruel pursuer and will be taken away by the Police to prison for murder as well as dashing all hope of a second kiss from the magnificent Marquis who has stolen her heart.