In the series, Dr. Thomas Thorne (Hollander) lives a quiet life with his niece Mary in the English village of Greshambury, which is ruled with an iron fist by the terrifying Lady Arabella Gresham. But Lady Arabellas world is forever changed when she learns that her beloved son is planning to elope with common-born Mary, rather than follow through on his arranged marriage to the rich American heiress Martha Dunstable. Unbeknownst to the rest of the town, the prestigious Gresham family has all but lost their fortune after their patriarch Francis Gresham Senior squandered it on one of his many fruitless pursuits; theyre now forced to take loans from drunken millionaire Sir Roger Scatcherd in order to survive. Lady Arabellas scheme to regain their fortune through the arranged marriage now seems poised for disaster; but Lady Arabella is not one to be easily dissuaded, and thus resolves to achieve her goal by any means necessary.