Following the sudden suicide of his father, Roger Haggard has assumed the position of head of the family and become one of the most rich and powerful men in the country, His new position, and the help of the famous poet Lord Byron, enable Roger to prevent the hanging of his younger half brother, Johnnie for leading the Luddites against his father's cotton mill. Before Johnnie can be retried, he is sent out of harms way to Barbados. Meanwhile, Roger daringly proposes to and is accepted by the beautiful Meg, a mere tinker's daughter, but she cruelly and unexpectedly jilt him, with a broken heart, he leaves the family estate at Derleth in the capable hands of his half sister Alice and, through Lord Bryon, makes a glittering debut into London's foremost political and social circles.... But a corrupt few are determined to bring about the downfall of Roger Haggard....