In a rural West Country parish on the eve of political reform, a man of refined bearing but modest station becomes entwined with local families as social and political tensions mount. Through courtship, community customs, electioneering, and clashes between labourers and aristocratic authority, relationships and loyalties are tested. Characters navigate poverty, moral dilemmas, and personal sacrifice while public contests such as polling and protests force private choices into the open, culminating in decisive confrontations that balance personal affection, civic duty, and social conscience.