Advancing years and his grasping neighbour, Cecil Brunt, combine to persuade Lord Randle to dig up his past and guarantee the future of Randle Hall.
Sir Lawrence Digby-Pimm's pedigree has never been in doubt. Nor has his lust for young females, which drives him to commit one outrage after another with all the arrogance of his forebears. Until he gets involved with Vanessa Bunton!
Fate brings Sir Lawrence and the young, reckless Willy Ponsonby together in the unlikeliest of circumstances in a Singapore bordello, leaving Willy bruised and battered, and the captain's reputation in tatters.
In Malaya, Sir Lawrence indulges himself at the expense of religious and social conventions and finds the price of sin a very costly one indeed.
Edward Watkins meeting with private investigator Paddy Maguire reveals far more than he had bargained for and leads him back to Randle Manor where an unwelcome visitor has reappeared without warning.
Willy's return to Randle Hall is the answer to Charles Bunton's prayers. It seems to be the answer to Lady Randle's prayers as well when she encounters 'Jesus' in her personal grotto in his lordship's prize rose garden.
Years spent observing from afar finally lead Edward Watkins to the doorstep of Lady Digby-Pimm but will his loyalty to the Bunton family prove to be too great to ignore?