Jonathan Drake inherits Dunnabridge Farm alongside a crushing burden of debt accumulated by his father and grandfather. Refusing to sell the historic property to the Duchy, he dedicates more than a decade to paying off every penny his family owed. This relentless pursuit of honor drains his mother's health and leaves him completely isolated. Following his mother's death, Jonathan resolves to find a wife despite his extreme poverty.
He sets his sights on Hyssop Burges, a proud and penniless orphan living with her uncle at White Works. Their courtship is fraught with tension, driven by mutual pride and the harsh realities of their financial standing. As Jonathan strives to maintain his ancestral dignity on the wild Dartmoor moorlands, rumors surrounding an old family miser, Brimpson Drake, cast a long shadow over his life.
Whispers persist of a hidden fortune left behind by the miser out of spite toward his heirs. Jonathan's stern temperament and obsession with his family's reputation put his relationship with Hyssop to the test. The narrative builds around the friction between old secrets and modern realities on the remote farm. Without offering easy resolutions, the story explores the heavy price of family honor, isolation, and the unyielding spirit required to survive against the backdrop of the desolate Moor.
