Hilary Fletcher is the clever son of a humble vicar. When his father takes up the living at Lasterby in Yorkshire, Hilary finds himself equally ill-at-ease in both the grand drawing rooms of the manor house and the earthy kitchen of his farmer uncle. As he grows older it is the aristocratic Metheralls in the manor that engage his imagination not his rough-and-tumble cousins. By the time he goes up to Cambridge, Hilary is in love with Harriet Metherall and believes himself to be loved by her. His illusions casually shattered, he descends into a life of corruption that soon makes him rich and powerful enough to please himself, never mind his betters. Now the Metheralls are going to find out who really calls the shots.