Cleone Charteris is the joy and despair of all the young men of the countryside, and she seeks a husband – a man who can duel and dice with the best of them. One of the men after her heart is the masterful and handsome Mr. Philip Jettan. But compared to other men in 18th-century England, Philip is out of step – he is careless in his appearance and, in Cleone’s own words, she cannot marry him because he is ‘a raw country bumpkin’. He even refuses to buy a wig! His hopes dashed, but wanting to win over the woman he loves, Philip leaves for Paris – to learn to be a gentleman.