Catherine Trevor is happy with her life at her father’s estate and does not regret remaining unmarried. But a visit from her brother, his peevish wife and ill-mannered children causes her to reconsider her status as an unmarried dependent. Despite the disapproval of her family, who had hoped she would accept the hand of her friend and neighbor, Lord Woodforde, Catherine schemes to capture the interest of Lord Edgecombe, who is spending the autumn at a neighbor’s estate. Yet no sooner does Catherine achieve her goal than she begins to wonder if she has made a disastrous mistake.