When Elfrida Frobisher leaves her country backwater and her clerical suitor in order to chaperone her niece, Prudence, in London, she does not anticipate any particular difficulty. Unfortunately, Prudence has developed an attachment for an unsuitable man, and employs all her considerable cunning to foster it behind her aunt's back. Determined to prevent a scandal, Elfrida seeks to foil her niece's schemes, only to find herself involved with the very eligible Rufus Tyler in a scandal of her own. Fleeing London seems the only solution but Prudence has another plan up her sleeve. Elfrida yearns for her quiet rural existence, but it takes a mad dash in pursuit of her niece before she realizes where her heart truly lies.