This novel tells of the rivalry between sunny Francie Fitzpatrick and her ambitious cousin Charlotte. When Francie arrives in Lismoyle, her flirtatious ways attract the attention of three very different men: the scholarly heir of the aristocratic Dysart family, the bold English officer Gerald Hawkins and the raffish land-agent Roddy Lambert. Charlotte too is interested in Roddy Lambert, but her secret schemes are doomed to go astray. The authors Edith Oenone Somerville (1858-1949) and Violet Martin ("Martin Ross" 1862-1915) were second cousins and together they wrote 13 novels, including "An Irish Cousin" and "Some Experiences of an Irish R.M." .