On the beautiful island of Mull off Scotland's wild west coast, Vassie Campbell has scraped a precarious living by raising cattle on a parcel of land that lies close to the sprawling estate of Fetternish. Her daughters, Innis, Biddy, and fey young sister Aileen, have known no other life than that of the farm. In the year of 1878, however, the arrival of the Baverstock brothers, the new owners of Fetternish, brings unwelcome change to the remote community. So do their wily manservant, Willy Naismith, and handsome young shepherd Michael Tarrant. Red-haired and sensual, Biddy is the first to attract Michael's attention as well as catching the eye of wealthy newcomer Austin Baverstock. But it is Innis, plain and solemn, who finally rebels against her sister's domination and the wishes of her fisherman father, and sets out to capture Michael for herself. Michael Tarrant is not all he seems, because is a Papist, anathema to Protestants. The sisters' rivalry in love exposes a terrible secret that leads to heartache and tragedy and changes the lives of all around them forever.