Gladys, a spirited, beautiful girl raised in the heart of the Australian outback by her father, has married into British high society. Her husband Alfred, well meaning, kind and head-over-heels in love with her, unwittingly throws her into the lion's den that is the London summer season. Is her beauty enough to make up for her coarse ways and shocking behaviour? And will her new family ever recover from the shame of having such a wild member? Soon England promises to smooth her rough-edged vulgarity; but at what cost?

This endearing exploration into the trials of being an animated, lively and vigorous young woman in late 1800's England is E. W. Hornung at his very best. It was first published in 1890.