Lady Diane's family lives in destitution, and her one way of overcoming financial failure and restoring her family name is to find a key, the Key To The Heart, which is a legend in her land and said to lead the bearer to their heart's one true desire. Nobles of the neighboring lands offer Diane riches she can only dream of if she can retrieve the Key for them. But the Key is kept by Count Valarian, a man of fearsome reputation whom Diane has a history with. All she has to do is get the Key from him.