Ellouise Starwood is looking to find a mate for her adopted daughter. She is from an aristocratic family that has been faced with financial difficulties for years. As a result, her father and Louize (older sister and mother of Juliet) run away. The older sister returns to Ellouise with Juliet but dies a few days later from a severe fever. Ellouise has now adopted Juliet and decides to find a suitable husband for her daughter in the aristocratic city of Cliff where the social circles are more relaxed and non-discriminatory. Upon her arrival to Cliff, she meets Marcus Hanger, the heir to a mining conglomerate where the family is often looked down on by the nobility for their lack of prestige and titles. Marcus was sent to Cliff where his aunt resides, after a series of romantic conquests at the capital city. He meets a widow at Cliff. Duchess Bellona, and has been courting her to no avail. He later learns that the Duchess is extremely wary and will only associate herself with married men