In 1917 Kent, England, eighteen-year-old Imogene Chively's father has chosen Ernest Steeple as her future husband, but his younger brother, Benjamin, wins her heart while she is giving him drawing lessons, all while someone seeks to do them harm.

"1833. A near-fatal carriage accident has deposited an unconscious young woman on the doorstep of Hardwick Manor and into the care of young Lord James Ellerby. But when she finally awakens, it is with no memory of who she is or where she came from. Beth, as she calls herself, has no identity; the only clue to her circumstances is a recurring nightmare of a hummingbird, blood dripping from its steel beak. With the help of James and his sister, Caroline,...