Amber Vrontsky is the heiress to the Pickford dynasty, a dynasty led by Blanche Pickford who is a bitter social climbing woman determined to fulfil her ambitions through Amber. Amber wants to be a designer, using the silk from the family factory to decorate and inspire.
Amber is sent to London to prepare for her Debut with a well-connected school aquaintance (who hates her for her new money and the fact that she's helping to sponsor her!) She meets a man and finds friendship but not love, he's homosexual and saves her from scandal by marrying her. She finds herself in a rarefied atmosphere.
There's a lot going on in this book, characters that made me sit up and think and characters that really were very very nasty. Some you could understand but some were just pure evil.

I liked the story overall, I'm looking forward to reading more. I will have to say that for a character that was dressed by Vionnet and Chanel a bulky crocheted top/dress on the cover isn't in keeping! ( )