George Whitmead, East India merchant, wants a compliantly dutiful wife At first his cousin Lucy-Anne Brown conforms to his wish, but, when he returns to India, his mother's death leaves Lucy-Anne to manage the family estate alone and this changes her Her husband's visits home are short and stormy and she is no longer biddable Forced to seek love with another man, she becomes compromised in a way which affects her future life, her daughter-in-law and her grandchildren, particularly the spirited Sophia