Elspeth Swiftwind, the outgoing younger sister of Arthur Swiftwind, stands out at her family's lavish social engagements, fair, freckled skin and flaming red hair turning heads even when she is not dripping in jewels. Witty, daring, and flirtatious, Elspeth is one of the most desired young women in Oaksleigh, and her dowry is sure to be the sort of sum only whispered about in polite company. Elspeth has taken the death of her father, Victor, particularly hard, and has begun finding it difficult to leave her family's ancestral property.