Ill fortune has brought once-respectable governess, Abigail Chantry, her younger sister and their two friends to the verge of destitution. When breaking into a mansion in desperation, Abby discovers the elderly owner, Lady Beatrice Davenham, bedridden and neglected. Abby and the old lady hatch a plan for Abby and her three 'sisters' to come live at the mansion and set about improving all of their lives. Until Lady Beatrice's nephew Max arrives in London.

Max, now the head of a vast and profitable trading empire, is returning to London to settle down, marry a beautiful high-born lady, and breed some heirs. He's horrified to find his aunt apparently under the sway of impostors, led by an opinionated spinster who has the temerity to defy a man in his own house. But to Max's concern, finds he's enjoying their exchanges a little too much. Falling in love was not in Max's plan. Nor was it in Abby's.