Handsome rogue Alasdare "Lucifer" Cynster escapes to Devonshire before the matchmakers of London set their sights on him. This leads him to Phyllida Tallent, a beauty of means whom Lucifer is determined to seduce without submitting to the parson's noose. Although she has many suitors, Lucifer's offer to teach Phyllida about the ways of love is almost too tantalizing to resist.