It is the reign of Charles I, and England has prospered under long years of peace But peace is shattered by the advent of brutal civil war between King and Parliament Edmund Morland seeks to steer a middle course between the opposing factions, but the family is split when his eldest son Richard brings home a Puritan bride, while his second son Kit joins the Royalist cavalry As the war grinds on, Edmund struggles to preserve the Morland fortune, but he is estranged from his sons, alienated at last even from his beloved wife Mary