Exmoor, 1458 - Richard Lanyon is a free man, but resents having to answer to the aristocratic Sweetwater family. But even noblemen do not have the power to contain Richard, a man who seizes any opportunity to become a landowner in his own right - and is prepared to forfeit the happiness of his family to do so.Aiming to create a dynasty, Richard arranges his son Peter to marry a clever and hardworking woman, one he hopes will bear sons. Though Peter and his bride Lisa settle into their marriage, each harbours a broken heart, lost dreams and unspoken secrets. Richard himself has a dark secret, and if it was ever revealed, all he has worked for will be destroyed. Surviving the betrayals of the past means keeping one foot in the present, and an eye to the future...