Beautiful young Lillie becomes restless in the countryside and yearns to see London, but her romantic vision of city life falls apart when her first visit reveals the harsh truth of society's prejudice.

After a failed romance with a poor fisherman, Lillie determines to marry a wealthy suitor and sets her eye on Edward Langtry, who eagerly courts her and brings her to his imposing home in Southampton.

Lillie persuades her husband Edward to bring her back to London, where she becomes a sensational success at the first social gathering she attends.

As Lillie's marriage fades, her stardom brightens. Soon she is favored in high society by a King, a Prince and the famous author Oscar Wilde.

The Marlborough House set successfully maneuvers a meeting between Lillie and the Prince of Wales, prompting scandalous rumors about both of them.

A new suitor - the Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria - takes too much interest in Lillie for Prince Bertie's liking.