Miss Eve Somerset has no dowry, no father, and no prospects. It is her third season, and she is still unmarried. She is the girl at the party with whom nobody wishes to dance. She is a wallflower. Pushed on by her mother, Mrs. Mary Somerset, and a cantankerous Aunt, Miss Alice Wilton, Eve finds herself at a ball hosted by the His Grace, the Duke of Somerset. After all, even wallflowers must attend balls. But her hopes of finding a suitor are low, and she joins the other poor, neglected girls at the end of the hall. Then enters Brigadier Charles Appleyard, veteran of Waterloo who has taken a long break.