Drunk at a country fair, Michael Henchard sells his wife to a sailor for five guineas. Overcome with guilt and remorse, he vows not to drink for 21 years. Decades later his wife seeks him out in Casterbridge, where he has gained both wealth and the respected position of mayor. Beneath the surface still smoulders the same impetuousness and temper which combine with fate to bring about his degradation and ruin.