Set in 18th century England. Francis Herries is an eccentric, larger-than-life man tortured by a strong romantic streak. He uproots his entire family from Doncaster, and takes them to live in a crumbling manor-house in the wilds of Borrowdale. A violent and impetuous man, a faithless husband and a capricious father, the Borrowdale valley and his unrequited love for gypsy Mirabell Starr are the two forces which drive him.