In a unique and compelling narrative form, we follow the adventures of Miss Arabella Leeds and Aubrey Paxton through their individual writings: Aubrey's letters to his grandmother and Arabella's private journal. Arabella's story involves that of sexual discovery and social exclusion from her prominent upstate New York milieu, amidst rumours of seances and witchcraft. Bound for London with her mother, she flees the gossip and ostracism. Aubrey, whose story begins in New Orleans, is a smug and spoilt "high-yellow" house servant who inexplicably falls from grace. He experiences the collapse of his insular world, and the tragic effects of familial betrayal and murder all set during the chaos of the civil war before he can truly find the love that was meant for him. He sets out for Europe encountering high adventure, erotic awakenings, long-buried family secrets, and the racy underpinnings of corseted Victorian society. All the time the two are coming closer together, but little do they know that the greatest challenge they face will be their 'forbidden' love for each other.