Now a wealthy young widow, former peasant girl Siana Forbes has overcome her humble beginnings to become mistress of Cheverton Manor, the handsome estate which her infant son, Ashley, will one day inherit. Following her grief over the death of her husband, the powerful and sensual squire, Edward Forbes, she is at last beginning to enjoy life again. When the man she truly loves, village doctor Francis Matheson, asks for her hand in marriage, it seems as though her happiness is complete. But trouble lies ahead. The death of his brother means that Francis must undertake a perilous voyage to Van Diemans Land on the other side of the world - where danger and hardship await. Left behind to raise a growing family, Siana faces trouble on the home front too. A sinister figure from her past re-emerges, determined to cause havoc. And a terrible ordeal suffered by Siana's stepdaughter, Maryse, on the night of the harvest supper, means that Siana is left with a heartbreaking choice to make. Will she be able to overcome the odds stacked against her - and will she and Francis ever be reunited?