In 1950s Scotland the farming industry is on the brink of huge change, becoming more mechanised and less human. But for the Maxwell family who farm at Lochandee it is also a time of hope and promise for the future. As matriarch Rachel contemplates her assorted children and grandchildren, she has every reason to feel proud of her clan. Conan's transport business is prospering, and he and his wife Fiona have plans to develop into the burgeoning tourist industry. Rachel's daughter Bridie is as happily married as Rachel herself, and she and Nick are working at building their own cattle farm. The only cloud on the horizon is a young woman named Gerda Fritz-Allan, who seems to have caught the eye of Rachel's youngest son, Ewan. Beautiful, ambitious and utterly selfish, Gerda has the power to wreak untold damage, changing the lives of the Maxwell family for ever...