Raven-haired Sophia knew him as Philip Rich, a poor relative of the Earl of Rame. And she knew that he awakened in her a craving that her betrothed, Sir John Bladen, could not satisfy. But she was pledged to wealthy Sir John in order to save her beloved Tarrant Hall. So she scorned Philip’s love only to discover, to her horror, that he was, in reality, the famous Earl himself. And now the Earl has vowed to humble Sophia and to avenge his honour. His vengeance involves Sophia, her Aunt Nan, and her rash brother Jasper, in the dangerous plots of the Royal Pretender and in the intrigue at the luxurious court of George II.