Ross Gordon, a young Scotsman, travels halfway around the world to escape his overbearing father and make a life for himself in a new country. In Newcastle, Australia, he rescues the equally audacious farm girl Daphne Cowper and they fall in love. With a ring secure on Daphne's finger they soon start a family. Times are tough though, and they struggle to make ends meet as they raise four proud-minded girls. But Ross, although a good man, is a hard disciplinarian and a little too fond of the drink. Daphne bears the brunt of his ire to protect her children, particularly Alyss, who, not unlike her father many years before, dreams of escaping her own circumstances and settling in to the quiet life of an English village. Daphne is disillusioned with her husband and life in general, and when one day the debonair salesman, Karl Maengaard, suddenly appears in her shop, her life is transformed in ways she could never have imagined. This sweeping family saga, set against the backdrop of post-war Australia has everything, and will keep you reading until the very last page.