In the bucolic late 18th Century English countryside, the Reverend Tobias Whitmore, Vicar of St. Margaret's, is happily settled with his lovely wife Lucy and their baby son Jamie. However, a chance trip for the couple to the genteel spa town of Bath provides up all sorts of unexpected opportunities for romps and frolics, to Tobias' eternal surprise. The Whitmores' dear friend Meg is out of sorts and unsure of direction in her prosperous life as a medium-grade courtesan. Her visit away to distract herself from her megrims takes to her to the seafaring city of Bristol to reunite with her good friend Betty. She also attracts the admiration of Merchant Seaman Alex Marriott. But is Alex all he seems? And should Meg risk her secure existence all on the dice of romance?