Eight hours is not a very long time, yet it completely changed the lives of a girl and a man. A man's life was fanned out by fate, criminals were caught and punished, and a battle of wits took place, while the mystery baffled New York City. The Earl of Valletort insisted that his daughter, Lady Hermione, marry a Hungarian Count. The Count saw a clear path to the throne of his country. Money was necessary; he must have wealth; thus his choice of Lady Hermione. The Earl himself had no money. When his wife passed away she left every dollar, and a big estate it was, to her daughter. The Count promises to do wonders for the girl if the latter would arrange to have his daughter marry him. The Earl tries to force his daughter to marry the Count, but he was not the man of her heart, so she escaped to America. She considered the marriage vile, and would avoid it at any cost. She took with her a plotting Frenchman, who was known to her father.
