'Why don't you take a lover, my dear? It would serve that feckless husband of yours right.'

'But I don't want a lover. I am in love with my husband.'

Poor deluded Lucy. She married a gambler, a womanizer, and a drunkard, and she refuses to admit that his frequent overnight absences are of significance. It is not until he reveals that Lucy's parents 'bought' him for her that it really stings.

And then one night at a ball she meets the charismatic Duke of Habard—and suddenly anything seems possible.