Handsome, distinguished and decidedly dashing, Theo, the Duke of Eaglefield, has the world, and most of its women, at his feet. But he takes all this attention for granted and is becoming tired and bored by it all.
In fact his friend, Harry Hampton, tells him that he has no concept of the challenges and complexities faced by the ordinary man and that the people he encounters see only his riches and rank rather than the man himself.
Protesting that this is untrue, Theo accepts Harry's challenge to walk the fifty miles from Brighton to his house, Eagle Hall, in Berkshire incognito and mixing with commoners along the way. He stands to lose his finest pair of horses should he fail and so he sets forth, leaving behind the glamour of Brighton's Beau Monde.
The second morning of his pilgrimage, Theo comes across a beautiful young girl, Alysia, standing precariously at the edge of a deep pool next to a weir. She seems to be praying and, instinctively, he knows...