Set in the Lancashire moorside town of Skirlaugh Falls, The Judges Daughter is the story of two families. Judge Zachary Spencer is something of a dictator. He treats his daughter, Helen, with contempt and considers himself a fulcrum on which the rest of life turns. The misery of Helen, his only child, leads her to behave in such a way that will have a lasting impact on both her father and Agnes Makepeace. Agnes, a woman of common sense, grim determination, and humour, pieces together the truth about her past, and the misdeeds and cruelties that have affected her life.