In the early 1900's, the Fairfield family live at Foxholes Farm on the Welsh border. To Marinda Fairfield, the farm is the whole of her life, though her parents are disturbed by her fondness for books as they consider reading a waste of time. Her mother is a little shocked by the arrival in the village of Laura Gray, who has not only divorced her husband, but actually earns her living by writing. The Grays exert a far-reaching influence on Marinda, and for a time she is torn from her beloved home.