Of the Moorhouse family of Ayrshire, Mungo is the only one of the children to remain on the family farm. Arthur moved to Glasgow at 18 to seek his fortune, and one by one the rest followed. Sophia is married to William Butter and loves to coo about her delightful children, Little Wil and Margy. Saintly Mary Moorhouse is also married with two children, and that leaves David, a dashing young socialite. The death of their father and step-mother takes the siblings back to Kilmarnock to attend the funerals, and to decide the future of their orphaned half-sister, the beautiful Phoebe.