Set in Sussex and Spain during the Napoleonic Wars, the novel recounts the divergent tales of the eponymous heroine and her brother in their efforts to save the noble Lorraine family from ruin.

The hero and heroine, brother and sister, are children of Sir Roland Lorraine, representative of a very ancient family.

[2] Hilary, while studying for the bar in London, falls in love with the daughter of a Kentish farmer, the sister of his fellow-pupil.

[2] The young man distinguishes himself at Badajos, and is on the high road to fame, when he falls under the spell of a Spanish countess, and forgets for a time his promise to the Kentish girl.

[2] Meantime his sister has been fighting a severe battle at home—defending herself against a plot to make her the wife of a drunken fellow named Chapman.