Inheriting the family estate has resulted in many disruptions to Dr. Damian Thatch's life. His unwillingness to give up his practice and become a gentleman of leisure has caused Lady Juliette to leave him, and she took Rosie with her, leaving him without his submissive house maid.
Frustrated by having to be careful so as not to leave marks on the masochistic Lady Bridgette, Damian goes to Madame Q's Nunnery to have his way with a dolly mop. While physically satisfying, however, he finds that purchasing pleasure takes away from his desire for conquest.
But then, while on a trip to Bramble Hall, he encounters Alice, a widow at of his tenant farms who is very much in need of the type of company he is able to provide, and he also learns that country folk take a much more pragmatic view to life than the Ladies of London.
