At the turn of the century, Bella Reed - orphaned and working as a companion in Exeter - receives a letter from someone claiming to be her uncle. Travelling to an ancient and neglected farm in remote Dartmoor, Bella meets members of her hitherto unknown family and is astonished to discover she is to be her uncle's heiress. But Bella is accustomed to city life and quickly finds the comfortless farmhouse, and its hard rural life, difficult to accept. A wise woman tells Bella tales of her late parents and advises her that life must be lived as the cards fall - but there is hostility in on the farm and Bella's fiance is ordering her to return home. Only when a violent act puts everything into perspective can Bella finally decide on her future...