In an 18th-Century England of wit, womanising and powdered wigs, provincial Philip Jettan runs the risk of irreproachability. Cleone Charteris stands in no such danger. The golden-haired, headstrong despair of men, she seeks a husband who can duel and dice with the best of them. So Philip leaves for Paris, where his father's hopes and his lover's ideals are realised but with unforeseen consequences for them both ...

A peerlessly successful and prolific romantic novelist, Georgette Heyer shows in Powder And Patch what won her a wide, devoted readership that continues to this day.