It is the ragged end of the 17th century, and Anastasia Ashby de la Zouche, Countess of Clapham, is having rather a bad day. Well, year. Several years, actually. The count is long gone, along with the money, so it's looking like a hungry winter for Anastasia and her faithful maid Alpiew, until a London tabloid hires her as a gossip columnist. In this hilarious debut, the Countess's scandal-seeking excursions, however, are about to turn up more trouble than she anticipates.