As a widower, Nathanial Durham has the responsibility of finding suitable husbands for his troublesome daughters. Flirtatious and changeable Bethany might have nearly anyone, but she seems determined to toss her suitors away almost the moment they appear. Laynie, on the other hand, far behind her sister in looks and charm, is of especial concern to her father. And so, when Harold Vaughn returns home to inherit, it seems the problem, at least for one of his daughters, is solved. Only which daughter will it be? Meanwhile, Mr. Durham, lonely for intelligent companionship, hires a gentleman to read with him several nights a week, but Mr. Holbrook is off limits to his coquettish girls. With varying degrees of reluctance, they honor the agreement. But when accident-prone Laynie falls from a horse, it sets in motion a series of events that expose Mr. Holbrook as a man of questionable integrity. Is it possible Mr. Durham's hired companion is capable of the wrongs laid at his door? Is it possible Laynie has been mistaken in esteeming him as a man to whom she might entrust with her heart? Between the manufactured innocence of a young woman and the championed exploits of every man, what happens when the two opposing doctrines collide?