The women of London must be served! Or so says Lady Agatha Purcell, a formidable bluestocking, who has founded a lending library just for them. Her young cousin, Prudence, is enlisted to dust and catalogue the thousands of donations they receive--a task that makes her yawn--and then she finds that someone has played a scandalous prank. A prim-and-proper etiquette book contains engravings of amorous encounters! Lord Alwyn, Lady Agatha's rakish son, insists that he is not to blame, but Prudence knows better than to believe him.

Vexed, not to mention perplexed, Lord Alwyn must convince the lovely, laughing Prudence that he is innocent of all wrongdoing. But she will not listen to his explanations--unless he whispers them into her pretty ear.