From the moment penniless Kathleen McKenna enters the Philadelphia home of her powerful and wealthy step uncle, Thomas Fitzgibbon, she senses his lascivious design on her. As she struggles to outwit his subtle sexual advances, she also struggles to win the friendship of his perverse and pampered daughter, Shana.

However, when both women fall in love with the handsome Dr. John Hayden, Shana's hostility escalates. She will go to any lengths to become his wife, even though just the thought of the marriage bed repels her.