It is 1913 and the world is on the brink of war. The Kaiser is sabre rattling in Europe and men are beginning to query the existing order. To the majority of the inhabitants of the estate of Cresswell Manor in Devon, the summer seems endless; why should they not think that life will continue as it always has, ruled by the seasons and the whims of the Cresswell family? But change is afoot for the Cresswells too. Hannah, the spinster daughter, is heavily involved with the suffragettes, whose aims she approves of but whose methods she abhors. She still dreams of discovering love. Esmeralda, daughter of the nouveau riche, corrupt Stanilas von Ehrlich and married to Oliver Cresswell, finds herself in a desperate situation that may force her to betray the man she loves. Lettice, tied to a brute of a husband, longs for freedom, but it comes at a price that makes her wonder if it is worth it. Young Mortimer Cresswell shocks his snobbish mother by falling in love with an estate worker's daughter, while his tearaway brother, Felix, breaks her heart in his pursuit of hedonism. Most of them are ignorant that war is looming, that society is about to change for ever and that the England their forefathers knew is going to alter beyond their wildest dreams or fears.