A short novel set in a remote unnamed part of Britain; the period, likewise, is unnamed though it is certainly pre-automobile. At its center is a love story between the rich and dissolute young aristocrat, Sir William Notley, and the beautiful Julia Roseingrave. Whether it be witchcraft -- she is very friendly with the local wise woman and herb gatherer, Goody Cloke -- or heartcraft and psychological fencing of the highest order is a question the novel leaves fringed with mystery. The plot is driven forward by interlocking romantic triangles that finally resolve into repentant stability for one of these two, and bitter isolation for the other.