When a sixteen year old low-born girl, Elizabeth O'Sullivan, meets the Earl of Tyrone on a road near his castle, he is the most handsome man she has ever seen in her young life. The beautiful innocent commoner falls madly in love with the reserved high-born Colum O'Neal. Unable to resist Elizabeth's youthful and alluring body, Colum discovers that he cannot forget that fortuitous meeting that changed both their lives. He will never cast conventions aside to marry Elizabeth. Therefore, he presents her with a proposal.
Edward McHugh, the Earl of Castlehaven, a friend of Colum, and the riches Earl in Ireland does not let convention dominate his life and the woman he wants to marry—Elizabeth. The friendship of the two Earls is strained when Edward asks Elizabeth to marry him. Elizabeth marries Edward but soon discovers that he is hiding a dark secret. Will Elizabeth accept Colum's proposal? What will Elizabeth do when she discovers Edward's secret?