Once the toast of Richmond, Virginia, Constance Lloyd left a string of misfortune behind and traveled to England to become a mere governess for an upper-class British family. Her high-spirited American ways are not always appreciated, nor is her refusal to act like an empty-headed ninny when around gentleman. But when her beauty catches the eye of none other than the Prince of Wales, Constance is suddenly a social sensation -- and finds herself proposed to by the son of the Duke of Hastings! But as she waltzes in the halls of royalty, Constance is less than madly happy -- for she is filled with doubts about her fiancé and his secrets.

Then she meets her intended's best friend, Joseph Smith, an all-too-handsome, self-made man. Now, about to embrace the priveleged life she's always desired, Constance begins to dream of forbidden and unexpected love -- with the one true prince in Britian's glittering palaces.