When Max, Earl Blakehurst, meets Verity, he sees a downtrodden servant. He doesn't recognize her as the daughter of a colonel under whom he used to serve. To save Verity from the life she's now living, Max proposes a shocking solution - he will set her up as his mistress. It's only once Verity has finally agreed, once Max is beginning to lose his heart to her, that he discovers her true identity.