The Ladies Rewrite the Rules

Widow Diana Boyle is tolerating her dour sister-in-law’s company when two unknown gentlemen come calling. Diana’s butler confiscates what they are carrying, a fortune-hunting directory for impoverished bachelors that lists Diana along with other wealthy spinsters and widows. Diana confronts the author of the directory, Maxwell Dean, berating him for his creation, and then warns other women in the directory to be on their guard. Many of those women meet and decide to hold a ball, embracing their single status and financial leverage over eligible men—and they refuse to play by high society’s rules of conduct for proper, demure women and instead make their own rules. Meanwhile, Max is horrified to find that his directory is being used with less than honorable intentions by supposed gentlemen and tries to right his wrong while winning over Diana.