Frederick Eversley has a kind heart and succumbs to his Mama’s manoeuvrings to get him to join a family visit to Chalgrove Park, the home of his mother’s sister. There he discovers that his cousin, Tom, has been seeing a great deal of Eleanor Denham.

A riding accident brings Frederick into contact with Eleanor, known to her family and friends as Nell, but his evident amusement at her tumble puts her quite out of charity with him. Phoebe Chalgrove has already fallen in love but her mother persists in trying to bring about a match with Frederick Eversley. Knowing this and angry with his reaction to her humiliation on horseback, Eleanor decides to prevent the marriage.

But her attempts to turn Lady Chalgrove against Frederick Eversley mean she is forced to get to know him better, changing her motives and her ambitions for good...