Jo Venner returns to the Cornish tin-mining village to where she grew up to take up the post of schoolmistress filled with memories of the happy days she spent there as a child. Despite being rejected by her mother, she is determined to build a life in Parmath. She soon falls in love with Luke Vigus who stirs up feelings she has never known before. But Luke is burdened with the responsibility of an alcoholic mother and his three young half-siblings - and their relationship can never be accepted by the villagers. Meanwhile Marcus Lidgey, the schoolmaster, is drawn to Jo. Yet he too harbours a dark past and is gradually, dreadfully, losing his mind...
