Following the tragic death of his wife, Sir Benedict Silverwood knows he must marry again. He desperately needs an heir, and his young daughter Lucy needs a mother even more so. But the naive young debutantes his sister introduces him to during the Season remind him far too much of his dead wife Vanessa, and he simply can't bring himself to offer for any of them. His mother introduces him to Kate Moreton, the granddaughter of a friend and an impoverished spinster and Italian teacher. It's not such an unpromising an idea as it first seems, and Ben soon finds himself strongly attracted to Kate. Although he doesn't remember, they've met before, and Kate has been hopelessly in love with him ever since. The idea of marrying Benedict when he cares little for her is devastating for Kate, yet, very, very tempting.