Gil Southwick has loved Hannah Southwick for years. When his best friend David, Lord Helmsby, meets her he tumbles for her, too. When her father tells Hannah she is to give up her inheritance and marry his friend, she panics and runs away. Gil takes her to Madame Joly's House of Passion. Gil proposes to her. He tells her David's secret-that since he returned home from the wars two years ago, he hasn't had a woman. He asks Hannah if she will help. Hannah seduces David, and Gil finds them together. He's delighted and wastes no time joining them. Together, they explore their newfound passion and vow to stay together. But her father threatens to have Hannah locked away in an asylum. If she doesn't marry, he has the power to do so. She has to choose one and she is afraid that will end their passionate love affair.