Olivia leaves Jamaica aboard a ship bound for England, obligated by her late father's will to marry her cousin Augustus Merton.

On the voyage to England, Olivia befriends Mrs. Honeywood and her son Charles, British West Indians returning home.

A violent storm strikes the ship at night, and Charles Honeywood seeks out Olivia and Dido to reassure them.

The ship arrives in Bristol and the Merton family meets Olivia and Dido at Bush Tavern.

Letitia Merton recoils and refuses to shake Olivia's hand at their first meeting, signaling open hostility.

Olivia and Augustus attend a Bristol society ball where wealthy guests openly mock and stare at her.

Olivia arranges a private meeting with Augustus and urges him to cancel the wedding if he is unhappy.

Olivia and Augustus marry in Clifton during a storm; lightning flashes through the church window at the moment they wed.

The unnamed editor interrupts the novel's letters to insert two pieces of correspondence written by other characters.

Olivia and Augustus settle at New Park, a country estate in Devonshire, where Dido takes up her role as housekeeper.

Olivia reads a newspaper notice confirming that Mrs. Honeywood has died.

Angelina Forrester rushes from the New Park cottage into Augustus's arms; Olivia, realizing Augustus is already married, faints.

Olivia visits Angelina at the cottage, presents her with the wedding jewels, and blesses her and Augustus's family.

Dido secretly contacts Charles Honeywood, who arrives at Olivia's Welsh cottage, confesses his love, and is sent away forever.

Olivia decides to return to Jamaica, intending to use her restored fortune to improve the lives of people of color there.

Olivia Fairfield leaves Jamaica and sails to England, bound by her late father's will to marry her cousin Augustus Merton or lose her inheritance to his brother's cruel family. She arrives in Bristol, meets the Mertons, endures Letitia's open hostility, and eventually convinces herself that marrying Augustus is the right course despite his mysterious sadness. After a storm-struck wedding, Olivia and Augustus build a quiet life at their country estate, New Park, only for Letitia's secret scheming to unravel everything when Augustus's first wife, Angelina Forrester, is revealed to be alive and living on the property. Stripped of her marriage and fortune, Olivia retreats to a small Welsh cottage, forgives Augustus, and endures a painful visit from the lovesick Charles Honeywood before reclaiming her inheritance. She ultimately resolves to return to Jamaica, where she intends to use her restored wealth to improve the lives of people of color.

Olivia Fairfield's journey from Jamaica to England and back.

Alone in her ship cabin, Olivia secretly studies a miniature portrait of Augustus and worries the artist may have flattered him.

On the ship's evening deck, Charles takes Olivia's hand and admits he does not want their acquaintance to end.

Dido excitedly puts on her gold earrings, which she has not worn during the voyage, as the ship enters the Bristol Channel.

Letitia serves a large plate of boiled rice at breakfast to humiliate Olivia, who responds calmly and without embarrassment.

Mr. Merton summons Olivia and assures her that Augustus deeply admires her and will devote his life to her care.

After the wedding, Augustus and Olivia relocate to London and stay at the Merton family's fashionable townhouse.

Olivia visits Westminster Abbey and reflects that even the most admired people become nothing after death, their legacies often purchased by wealth.

Olivia meets the newly wealthy Ingot family and surveys their extravagant Pagoda home with a mixture of curiosity and distaste.

At a Pagoda dinner party, Almenia Danby boldly questions Augustus about Angelina Forrester, and he insists the woman is dead.

Olivia catches Mr. Bellfield before Frederic Ingot can trip him at the dinner party, earning Mr. Waller's gratitude.

Letitia arrives at New Park and acts with surprising civility toward Olivia and Augustus during her stay.

Olivia wakes from her faint following Angelina's appearance to find Caroline Lumley and Dido watching over her.

Augustus moves in with the Lumley family after Mr. Merton cuts him off for concealing his first marriage.

Mr. Merton dies without a will, dividing his fortune equally between his two sons; George then relinquishes his legal claim to Olivia's inheritance.

Mr. Bellfield visits Olivia at her Welsh cottage regularly and urges her to give Charles Honeywood a romantic chance.

Before reaching England, Olivia studies Augustus's portrait in secret and navigates Charles Honeywood's growing romantic interest while his mother's health declines. Once among the Mertons, she endures Letitia's petty cruelties and seeks reassurance from Mr. Merton before the wedding takes place. After marrying, Olivia and Augustus pass through London, where she tours its landmarks, meets George Merton, and forms her distaste for city life before escaping to their country estate. At New Park she observes the eccentric Ingot family, attends their lavish dinner party, and grows close to the Lumley family before Letitia's visit precipitates catastrophe. In the aftermath, her neighbors abandon her, Letitia arrives and departs, and she eventually hears that Mr. Merton has died, an event whose consequences finally restore her financial independence.

The social encounters and smaller dramas surrounding Olivia's story.

Olivia describes her mother Marcia, an enslaved African woman, and her English planter father, who loved each other but could not marry.

Mrs. Honeywood compares Olivia to a princess traveling to meet her betrothed and warns that arranged marriages rarely end happily.

Olivia takes Letitia's young son onto her lap and uses her own arm to show him that darker skin is not dirty.

Letitia's inserted letter to Miss Danby reveals she has devised a secret scheme of revenge against Augustus.

Augustus's inserted letter to Lionel Monkland confesses he will never love Olivia because his heart is buried with a secret first wife.

Olivia meets the modest Lumley family at New Park and forms a close friendship with their seventeen-year-old daughter Caroline.

Olivia discovers that a mysterious woman has quietly moved into the isolated cottage on the New Park property.

Caroline confesses to Olivia that her parents oppose her courtship with Mr. Waller, hoping Sir Marmaduke will arrange him a better match.

Olivia finds Augustus on the New Park grounds, assures him she bears no resentment, and asks him to walk with her to the cottage.

Olivia leaves New Park with Dido and rents a small cottage on the Welsh border, arranging quarterly maintenance payments from George Merton.

Colonel Singleton writes to Olivia offering himself as her companion after her marriage fails, claiming he is above racial prejudice; she is disgusted and does not reply.

Facing a serious illness, Letitia sends confessional letters revealing how she plotted to separate Augustus and Angelina and deceive them both.

Olivia discovers that Charles Honeywood is the mysterious wealthy great-nephew who rescued Mr. Bellfield from the Pagoda.

Mr. Bellfield tells Olivia the full story of Mrs. Honeywood's life, explaining Charles's origins and how he came to settle in Wales.

Olivia writes her final letter from England, expressing deep admiration for the country and the people it produced before she and Dido sail home.

From the very first letters, Olivia's story is shaped by hidden truths: her parents' impossible love, the arranged marriage's precarious terms, and the racial prejudices waiting for her in England. Two inserted letters crack open the narrative midway through, revealing Letitia's vengeful intentions and Augustus's secret grief for a wife he believes to be dead. At New Park, Olivia builds a life while clues quietly accumulate—a mysterious cottage tenant, a troubled dinner-party conversation, a discouraged courtship—until Letitia's scheming finally detonates the marriage. In the aftermath, Olivia makes a series of dignified, costly choices: forgiving Augustus, renouncing the estate, refusing Colonel Singleton's insulting offer, and turning away Charles Honeywood. The full truth of what happened to Augustus and Angelina only emerges through Letitia's deathbed confession, and once Olivia understands the entire story, she reclaims her inheritance and prepares to sail home to Jamaica.