When eighteenth-century young lady Bella Rushdale finds herself fiercely attracted to handsome landowner Lucerne Marlinscar, she does not expect the rival for her affections to be another man. However, the handsome and decadent Marquis Pennerley has desired Lucerne for years and, when they are brought together at the remote Lauwine Hall for a country party on the Yorkshire Moors, he intends to claim him. This leads to a passionate struggle for dominance - at the risk of scandal - between the highly sexed Bella and the debauched aristocrat. Ultimately it will be Lucerne who will choose the outcome - and his decision is bound to upset somebody's plans.