Set in rural southwest England, the novel follows a spirited young woman whose beauty and independence draw the attentions of two very different suitors—one passionate and of modest means, the other more socially secure—leading to a fraught love triangle marked by pride, miscommunication and the pressures of class and reputation. As choices are made and hopes collide, chance and irony drive the characters toward painful consequences, and the story examines romantic idealism, social constraint and the harshness of fate in a tightly drawn regional setting.