"Harriet and the Piper" by Kathleen Thompson Norris is a romance novel that narrates the ambitions and thoughts of the main character, Harriet. She is governess to a wealthy but distracted family. The husband is always busy in the business and wishes to have a smooth household. Harriet, the wife, thinks this is a boring life. She is a smart flirt, her husband knows, and badly spoiled by her lovers. Harriet is concerned for her daughter, Nina, as she is about to come of age. A scam artist has his eyes on Nina who is also a man from her mother's past flirty scene. The artist comes with some wicked plans as Harriet tries to save her daughter...