Young Sophia Latimer's beauty immediately attracts the attention of rich aristocrat Sir Robert Drysdale when he visits Latimer Hall to buy horses for his stables. When his cousin finds out, he is determined to seduce Sophia himself and bring about her public ruin as he knows any suggestion of marriage would then be out of the question. His actions lead Sophia into danger and she is forced to experience the seamy secret life led by the Victorian upper and lower classes until she is able to find true love.