The normally bookish Lady Victoria "Vicky" Aston has her life turned upside down when she, through a series of misfortunes, is forced to marry. She reluctantly enters the dangers of aristocratic society with only her knowledge of Jane Austen's novels as her weapons, but her time in society proves as confusing as it is dangerous when she meets the handsome, wealthy, and roguish Mr. Carmichael and is reunited her former childhood best friend, Tom, with whom she finds herself inexplicably attracted. A series of misfortunes then occur that point to a conspiracy involving both Carmichael and Tom, both of whom vie for her heart.