James Mulligan is a good man. When his father wins a house, land and several businesses in a card game, James resolves to return them to their rightful owners--Louisa Burton-Massey and her three beautiful daughters. But after his father's death, he can't just give the property back--there are too many debts for that--so he endeavours to turn them into a profitable offering before handing them over. Things don't go as smoothly as he hopes. The Burton-Masseys are an unpredictable lot and one of them in particular causes his heart to lurch about like a marionette. Plus James is not all he seems; once, sometimes twice a day, he descends into the cellar of his house and locks himself in, away from the prying eyes of his servants. Here he keeps "the evidence of his sinful soul"--a secret to which he returns day in day out, a secret so dark he can't share it with anyone.