Orphaned at age 8 and raised by a brutal brother, nineteen-year-old Rhian dreams of meeting a man who will love her and give a family of her own. When she is invited to join the Evans family on New Year"s Eve 1913, her life is thrown into turmoil. The youngest Evans" brother, Joey, confesses he loves her. Handsome, charming Joey has never met a woman who could refuse him anything. But Rhian is suspicious of his reputation as a ladies" man and it takes time, tenderness, and persistence to win her trust. Just when she finally admits that she loves him as much as he loves her, Joey"s past overshadows and finally shatters their happiness. Rhian turns to her employer, Edward Larch, who offers her the only position he can, that of his mistress. Her choice is simple and irrevocable—to forgo love and the chance of a settled family life for the sake of financial security.