Nineteen-year-old Diana Savarol is nowhere near the traditional ingenue entering her first Season. In fact, as distant cousin Lord Lyonel Ashton soon discovers, she has a mind -- and a tongue -- as distinctly foreign as her tanned face. And the conventions of polite London society seem wholly unable to restrain her wilful disposition, outspoken nature and general disdain for the array of marriageable prospects she is exposed to.

In many ways, it is a blessing that Diana soon convinces her aunt Lucia, Lady Cranston, to allow her to return to her beloved West Indies. However, she is not to risk such a dangerous voyage alone, and Lyonel is forced to escort her as chaperone and protector -- a role he increasingly comes to dislike as Diana's true environment embraces them both in its heady, sensual perfume.