The Honourable Christopher Fancot, on leave from the diplomatic service in the summer of 1817, is startled to find his entrancing but incorrigibly extravagant mother on the brink of financial and social ruin - and more than alarmed to find that his twin, Evelyn, has disappeared without trace. Christopher - Kit - is forced into an outrageous masquerade by the tangled affairs of his wayward family: his rigid uncle, Lord Brumby; the surprisingly wily Sir Bonamy Ripple; the formidable old Lady Stavely and Evelyn's betrothed, Cressy.

Horry Winwood doesn't play by the rules. So when her family are near ruin and her sister is about to enter a loveless marriage to a wealthy man to settle the family debts, young and headstrong Horry proposes to marry him instead. As her new husband's attentions fall elsewhere, Horry feels increasingly unhappy. Then she meets the attractive and dangerous Lord Lethbridge, and her days suddenly become more exciting. But there is bad blood between Horry's husband and Lord Lethbridge, and as complications and deceptions mount, the social tangle grows ever trickier to unpick.

Annis Wychwood delights in her independence. Beautiful, rich and far too busy for love, she has turned down the advances of many a hopeful suitor. But when she becomes entangled in the affairs of a runaway heiress, she encounters the girl's guardian, the notorious Oliver Carleton. While Oliver may be a reckless and uncivil rogue, Annis can't help but be drawn towards his wild ways.

Society believes the worst of Justin Alastair, the notorious Duke of Avon. When he encounters a young boy, Léon, who is running from his abusive brother, Avon employs the boy as his page, parading him around parties and other society events in full view of his bitter rival, the Comte de Saint-Vire. But the truth is soon uncovered: Léon is a girl named Léonie and is actually the legitimate child of the Comte and his wife. While Avon is intent on his plan to reveal the Comte’s duplicity and ruin him, he is charmed by Léonie’s kindness, falls in love, and becomes a changed man.

When the notorious Lord Tracy Belmanoir, duke of Andover and also the infamous Black Moth, is caught attempting to abduct the dark-haired Diana Beauleigh by estranged Jack Carstares, the rightful earl of Wyncham, he's sent scurrying after a thrilling sword fight. Injured in battle, Jack relies on Diana to nurse his wounds and, as their feelings for each other blossom, realizes that he must return to Wyncham, clear his name of previous accusations, and rightly take over as earl. But the Black Moth waits patiently to take what he wants - and he is relentless.