Brussels, 1815. The prince of Orange is the guest of honor at a society ball hosted by the duke of Wellington, commander of the allied troops against Bonaparte, who is about to be crushed at Waterloo. Charming Lord Edmund Bellasis, a peer's heir and dashing officer, shows off his naive bride Sophia, daughter of Wellington's trusted purveyor of vital supplies James 'The Magician' Trenchard, whose mother Anne fails to talk her out of a hasty, public engagement above their station. the ball ends in chaos as the troops are called to Quarter Bras. Belgravia, London's richest quarter, 26 years later. The duchess of Richmond hosts the first ever high tea reception, where some elderly ladies are delighted to meet others who attended the Waterloo ball. Anne Trenchard explains how her daughter died in giving birth to the discretely hidden child of Edmund, who died in action, but their church marriage was a cruel scam, kept even from Sophia's brother Oliver, who rebels to domineering father James.
—KGF Vissers