Lady caroline carol is thrown out of her father's home for continuously insulting daniel, the new earl of dalwood, who is the same man she had insulted ten years earlier about the scar on his cheek. to hide his shame, daniel grows a beard. angered by the new insult that forbids his wife's burial on his old home, dalwood, her father says caroline has to go to a nunnery or with the first man through the door of the house. caroline does not recognize daniel without the beard he just shaved off as he enters the house. she has to go with him as a common woman because daniel is incognito as a common man in order to find out why the dalwood estate is losing so much money. she now has to learn how to be a good common woman while the earl investigates the crime. when caroline learns how to be civilized, daniel marries her, but still as a commoner. so why does someone shoot them both?