When Molly helps a man to escape from an old mill where two Ebton villagers have left him trussed up, she unwittingly changes her own destiny, her family's and that of the village. Her secret, if discovered, would have her ostracised. The opportunity to leave her simple life behind comes when the handsome Lieutenant James Deadman professes his love for her, asking her to be his wife. However, his cousin, Dr Russell Deadman, seems determined to foil their match.