Clifford, the second son of Earl Arthur and Countess Amelia of Highcliff, and Sabine, the only child of their friends and neighbors, Earl Eric and Countess Eleanor of Highrock, have been friends since their early childhood; ever since Clifford rescued Sabine from drowning when she was seven and he was nine. Over the years that followed, the two not only developed a deep friendship, but eventually and inevitably fell in love; much to the delight of their respective parents-but also to the chagrin not only of Clifford's twin brother Harold (born just minutes before Clifford), but also of Desmond, the oldest son of Earl James of Pendelton. Both of them have aspirations on Sabine, not just motivated by an ever-growing sexual interest, but also because of their ambitions with regards to the Highrock Estate.
When Clifford disappears without a trace on his way to London to visit an ailing aunt, Sabine is heartbroken. She, her parents, as well as Clifford's, do everything they can to find him; but in the end it is just Sabine who still holds out a stubborn conviction that he is still alive. She simply is unable to ever even conceive of a world in which he is not.