Elizabeth lost her parents when she was just an infant and grew up in the cloistered haven of a convent orphanage. As an adult she has longed for excitement and passion, but her one experience with a man turned out to be an embarrassing disappointment. She is ready to forget men altogether now and focus her attention entirely on the expansion of her education. The unexpected arrival of a new English teacher threatens to unbalance Elizabeth's plans. Raleigh Hunt is direct and imperious, and in every way conceivable, the kind of American Elizabeth and her friends would rather mock than take seriously. But something about this man affects Elizabeth's emotions, and the more time she is obligated to spend with M. Hunt the more difficult it is for her to stop thinking about him. When a seductive nobleman expresses his desire for Elizabeth she faces the hardest choice of her life: to accept the nobleman's courtship or surrender herself to the passion stoked by the stern Mr. Hunt.