After they survive a deadly fever and the world's worst musical performance, Honoria Smythe-Smith, a really bad violinist, and Marcus Holroyd, her older brother's best friend, fall desperately in love.
When Sir Richard Kenworthy takes an interest in the often-overlooked Iris Smythe-Smith, she agrees to marry him despite her suspicion of his motives, but he is hiding secrets that threaten the love growing between them.