Iris Henley, who hails from a respectable family but not one of nobility, is pressured by her father to wed Hugh Mountjoy, a well-respected and affluent man. Hugh is better suited to a lady of character, like Iris, but she can't help but be drawn to Lord Harry Norland, who has had a famous life. Lord Harry's close friend Hugh Mountjoy was murdered by a member of the Invincibles, and as retaliation, he turned himself into a marked man. Iris, his wife, received no financial assistance from her father, but she did have access to a little legacy from her mother, which she utilized to supplement her income. Lord Harry allowed himself to be seduced by a con artist and persuaded Iris to assist him in covering up for him when an investment he made with the majority of Iris' estate turned bad.
There are a lot of regrets shown by many characters who are persuaded to take a terrible path but who finally rebel against their circumstances to make apologies, much like in real life, not everyone is all good or all bad. An excellent analysis of how even decent people may succumb to evil when they believe they have nowhere else to turn that is really well done.
