Something is odd about Roseleigh Hall, though Harriet Grant, who goes to work there as a governess, is not quite sure what it is. Things look a little run down, and the estate appears to be run by a housekeeper and a groom/odd job man. While the housekeeper, Mrs Barnes, seems pleasant enough, there is something about her that Harriet finds puzzling. And then there are her charges, the twins Henrietta and Helen, who have had a long stream of governesses but little affection. Will she be able to cope with them? Nothing at Roseleigh is quite as it seems, least of all her employer who, far from being the dull middle-aged widower she had visualised, is a dynamically attractive man in his thirties.