Emmaline has always understood from her mother that as the eldest of four daughters she must marry, but it seems that no proposals are going to come her way. Until, at a crowded ball, Julius makes his way to her side and waltzes her off. The next morning he makes it plain that he wants to marry her, and will marry her no matter what. So it is that Emmaline finds herself on the way to England from America to be with her husband-to-be, her hopes as high as they have ever been. What greets her when she arrives, however, is a strange house, full of odd guests and eccentric servants. It is a far cry from the glorious place that Julius had described to her. Indeed, as the days go by, her fiance seems to change beyond recognition and Emmaline becomes more and more unhappy.She cannot see any future to their relationship. But that is before Julius's past, and the history of his house,make themselves plain to her.