Cecily Hawthorne, desperate to escape from a dreadful position as a nursery governess, agrees to model for prominent Society portrait painter, Devin Sheridan, despite the opprobrium attached to that occupation. Cecily becomes Devin's Pandora, his vision of a temptress, and he must paint her if only to shock London society with a tantalizing portrait that makes her the envy of the ladies and the talk of the town.Set In the colorful salons of Kensington and studios of Chelsea, and graced with eccentric characters, both real (Whistler and Wilder) and imagined (Veracity Flutterby, Chester Thrush), this is a charming romp through the artistic and aesthetic circles of Victorian London.