At twenty-eight, Anne Guilfoyle is happily established as a spinster and a bluestocking, delighting her London friends with witticisms and intelligent observations on the political goings-on of the day. But when she is suddenly bereft of her fortune, she is forced to take up residence at Fevermere, the Cheshire farmhouse willed her by her great uncle. Isolated from London society and surrounded by farmland, with only her friend Maria for companionship, Anne finds her intelligence put to the test. She rapidly overcomes the shock brought about by the move and sets herself the task of learning everything she can about farming. Evenings prove rather dull, however, and Anne is obliged to invite some of her neighbors to dine-the most notable guest being Mr. Henry Highet, who Anne quickly decides is a thick-witted country type, though admittedly rather handsome. But Anne's estimations of both country life and Henry Highet are about to undergo a dramatic change . . .
