The Duchess of Masham in the most beautiful woman Peter Waverley, a doctor, has ever seen. The problem is she is married, and as unobtainable as any woman ever was, but there is a spark of attraction, a dangerous spark.

At a ball they dance together, the seductive nature of their dance incurring the wrath of the Duchess' husband. The Duke is a powerful man and soon Peter is arrested and put in prison. The Duke has the Duchess' committed to a lunatic asylum, ridding himself of her forever.

Will they end up together in the end?