In the beautiful Scottish landscape of Angus in the early 1900s, Catriona Cameron lives on her father-in-law's farm with her daughter Victoria, and mother. John, her husband, had long ago run away to live abroad but life is steady and happy without him. That is until the old man dies and leaves everything to John. Although he added the proviso that on John's death the farm becomes Catriona's, they have very little money, and to make ends meet the three women take in lodgers. And so when John reappears to claim his inheritance, he too becomes their lodger. The family begins to re-tie their emotional knots but aged 14, Victoria is starting to form ties of her own. However, her feelings for Robert do not meet with the approval of his aristocratic parents and when he goes to fight in Great War, they make it quite clear that they want the relationship to end.