In 1789, on the eve of the first presidential inauguration, charismatic Lion Hampshire aspires to a seat in the first Congress. In an effort to improve his rakish reputation, he agrees to an arranged marriage with Virginia-bred Priscilla Wade. However, his fiancée's headstrong lady's maid, Meagan, is not who she seems to be and Lion's carefully crafted future may be undone by his passion for the wrong woman...