Orphaned at the tender age of eight years, Elizabeth spends the next ten years as a ward in the loveless home of her uncle. Eager to be free of his burden, her uncle arranges a union between Elizabeth and Stephen, the future Duke of Eastwick, without first consulting her. Having her dreams of marrying for love dashed and completely without the guidance of a female to prepare her for what was to come, Elizabeth handles the union poorly. An old friend of her deceased father takes advantage of the situation by convincing her to fund a trip overseas with part of her inheritance He promises to act as her guardian. Eager to be free of a future in a loveless marriage, she sails away toward a new life. Sadly her guardian was no match for the perils that awaited her in the new world. Alone and forlorn she realizes the love she dreamed of was there all along in the man she married, but did she realize too late?