The Gunnings are a family of gifted Irish actors, albeit quite poor. Mrs. Gunning decides that they should go to London disguised as aristocrats so that her two daughters can marry wealthy noblemen. Elizabeth and Maria are remarkably beautiful, and these "granddaughters" of Viscount Mayo soon make a splash in British society. With their mother's guidance, the sisters resort to theatrical tricks to pull off the illusion of wealth, including hiring a fellow actress to play their maid and adding ruffles and bows to their one good gown to make it look like several. John Campbell, the Duke of Argyll, becomes smitten with Elizabeth, whose guilt over the deception grows stronger each day. Maria, on the other hand, is delighted with the charade. Henley's gently suspenseful tale of two poseurs in eighteenth-century British society, a realm so artificial it can't recognize fakery, is filled with satisfying historical detail and actual characters from this intriguing period.