When Sarah Mortonby's mother dies in 1735, Sarah has no alternative but to seek help from her mother's family, even though they disowned her for marrying Sarah's father. She is shocked to find herself the sole survivor and heir to her mother's old home. It's so dilapidated, she is urged to sell, and a neighbour, Mr Sewell, is eager to buy. However, Sarah has fallen in love with it, but needs a husband with practical skills, because she is lame. Immediately attracted to Will Pursley, a farmer dispossessed by Sewell and now acting as her bailiff, she proposes to him. But can the two of them manage to save the estate? Or will Sewell find a way to cheat them out of it? And will the fondness growing between them turn into love? They are not the only ones who've been wronged by Sewell and, when the whole village rises up against him, danger threatens William and Sarah as well.