Riding in the woods the beautiful young Farica Chalfont encounters a handsome yet forlorn gentleman called John Hamilton, whom she is sure is about to commit suicide as he is holding a pistol in his hand. After intervening and talking to him she is instantly and irresistibly attracted to him, but, as she explains, she is already unwillingly promised in marriage to Fergus, the new Earl of Lydbrooke. Not only does she not love him, she feels sure that...