Born to privilege in a Southern home, the beautiful Annabelle hides a shameful secret - a dream in which she is the lowest slave - which denies her marriage and happiness. It is only the intentions of a foreign gentleman that can secure her from her dilemma. Caught between her preference for dominant servants, and her love for an English aristocrat, poor Annabelle must learn to cope with opposing demands. In reconciling these desperate pleasures she is aided by her friends and maids, as well as by the delightful lusts of her new husband. But what sinister force lurks in the background? While Annabelle, her lovers, and her friends disport themselves enticingly in the Post-Civil War South, there is trouble afoot, trouble that will wrench Annabelle from her newfound happiness. And though she has been a strict mistress and a no less strict student, there are still things she needs to learn under the tutelage of the stranger who invades her life.