Strong-willed Beatrice Lacey refuses to conform to the limited life of an eighteenth-century woman. Threatened with the loss of her family name and beloved Wideacre estate once she is wed, she decides to take destiny into her own hands. Seduction, betrayal, even murder -- Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to triumph, she is haunted by the one person who knows the extent of her plans -- and the lengths to which she will go to keep the estate she feels is her birthright.