Set in 1850's England, The Lasting Effects of Beauty chronicles the struggles of Vanessa Hargrove toward romantic freedom in an era where women had few freedoms at all. Three families, in the established aristocracy, the landed gentry and the middle class all devise their schemes to gain power and influence with Vanessa as the prize with which their plans will come to fruition. Damaging secrets creep beneath the power plays, war, deceit, treachery...