On the eve of her nineteenth birthday, the vivacious Caroline Derwent-Jones looks forward to being free of her oafish guardian, Mr. Ffalkes. But Mr. Ffalkes has other plans for Caroline and her inheritance; Caroline must escape.

In her flight, Caroline encounters Lord Chilton of Mount Hawke, Frederic North Nightingale, and finds herself tangled in mystery and romance. Amid murder, enigmatic secrets, and a long standing tradition of no women at Mount Hawke, Lord Chilton discovers his desire for Caroline.