The main heroine of this novel is Brianna Lynch, an Irish girl who becomes a famous actress. She is the assistant photographer to her aunt, an eccentric character from the USA. With her wild hair and messy clothes, she earned the nickname 'Petticoat Loose'. Brianna Lynch has a lover, Pat Rooney, a reckless jockey, who is killed off at the beginning of the story; and very soon after this event she leaves her job, with her friend's help, Mickey Croom, and becomes a theatre actress. From there her success as an actress will escalate and she will meet an author, Raemore Clive, a mysterious being who exerts a magical influence on her and wants to make her his wife, even against her will. Meanwhile, Mickey, the hunchback, undertakes a dangerous operation to correct his deformity and thus become a viable suitor for Brianna's hand...