When Miss Valentine Godwin (daughter of the peerage and rebellious "new woman") drives out her final suitor with licentious advances, her beleaguered parents see no other option but the madhouse. The unruly, independent woman finds herself packed away to a distant Scottish asylum, straight into the arms of the very man she's been desperately seeking. She throws herself into a scandalous affair with absolute gusto, unafraid and unashamed of what her culture might think. Doctor August Blackmore has dedicated himself to his work for years, and buried his hopes for romance, ever since a failed love left him embarrassed and scorned. He never expected to find a lover to match him- much less in the brash, wild patient that has graced his door! United by intense, passionate needs neither of them ever found in another, they begin to explore their bond as intensely within the bedroom as without. Despite finding this bliss, Valentine's purpose is not yet fulfilled. Wickedness and cruelty exist within the asylum, and she is determined to hunt it down. It is the doctor who must keep her from succumbing to the true madness of her emotions, whether lust, or rage...