Emma Stuart, daughter of Lord Claridge, distinguished member of His Majesty’s Privy Council, delights in playing pranks on noblemen who inflict misery upon others. Twice Lady Emma shames the Marquess of Richmond for his ill use of gently bred ladies. In return, he blackens her reputation. Hayden Hamilton, a handsome London barrister, has a mysterious power over Lord Richmond and proves that the marquess tricked Emma into meeting him in a dark billiard room at a ball. Even so, her suitors disappear. Livid at being exposed, Lord Richmond plots with another nobleman to avenge himself. Emma finds herself falling in love with Hayden, who has publicly vowed never to marry a lady born to wealth and privilege. Unbeknown to her, she has beguiled him body and soul, though he is determined to forget her. Just when fate reveals the cause of his power over Lord Richmond and makes a union between Hayden and Emma possible, he learns she has changed in ways that may set her forever beyond his reach.