Set in 1706 during Queen Anne Stuart's reign, Far Beyond Rubies begins when William, Baron Kemp, Juliana's half-brother claims she and her young sister, Henrietta, are bastards. Spirited Juliana is determined to prove the allegation is false, and that she is the rightful heiress to Riverside, a great estate. On his way to deliver a letter to William, Gervaise Seymour sees Juliana for the first time in the grounds of her family estate. The sight of her draws him back to India. When "her form changed to one he knew intimately - but not in this lifetime," Gervaise knows he would do everything in his power to protect her. Although Juliana and Gervaise are attracted to each other, they have not been formally introduced and assume they will never meet again. However, when Juliana flees from home, and is on her way to London, she encounters quixotic Gervaise at an inn. Circumstances force her to accept his kind help. After Juliana's life becomes irrevocably tangled with his, she discovers all is not as it seems. Yet, she cannot believe ill of him for, despite his exotic background, he behaves with scrupulous propriety while trying to help her find evidence to prove she and her sister are legitimate.