When a love affair between a young aristocrat and the seventeen-year old daughter of his tutor ends in grief and humiliation, he is sent away to Europe to forget while his lover is left behind. Pregnant and ruined she bears a child, Harry, who is fostered by the Pritchetts, a humble and caring family. Harry grows up in idyllic surroundings with Alice, his foster-sister, sometimes going up to the big house to play with the beautiful but spoilt Madeline. Though secure at the Pritchetts’, nothing can prepare Harry for the revelation of his father’s true identity. When the truth finally does emerge, Harry finds he cannot forget the care of those who had brought him up – especially Alice with her deep and enduring love.