To save her critically injured and comatose brother, Iris is forced to assume the identity of the missing Clara and become engaged to Julian. On the night of their engagement, she catches Julian in an act of infidelity; in a desperate move, she asks Julian’s aunt—the Duchess Victoria—to spend the night with her, only to find herself ensnared by the older woman. As she struggles to maintain her charade, Iris becomes entangled in a web of family vendettas, aristocratic conspiracies, and illicit desires—a transaction that spirals into an uncontrollable, passionate affair.