Beatrice Lacey, strong-minded and amoral, refuses to conform to the limited life of a lady of the eighteenth century. Destined to lose her family name and beloved Wideacre estate on marriage, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands. Seduction, betrayal, even murder--Beatrice's passion is without apology or conscience. "She is a Lacey of Wideacre," her father warns,"and whatever she does, however she behaves, will always be fitting. " Yet even as Beatrice's scheming seems about to triumph, she is haunted by the one person who knows the extent of her plans... and her capacity for evil.