Joseph Miller is a proud man. When his daughter Sarah becomes personal maid to Lady Caroline, he resents her being a servant to the gentry. Worse still, her affair with the squire's son can only end in tragedy. Lady Caroline's wilful nature leads her into a clandestine romance with the estate bailiff, Thomas Cole. Selfishly and ruthlessly she carries gentle Thomas along on the tide of her passion. Nothing and no one must stand in her way, not even Lynwood, the young boy who loves her devotedly.