William Neal's fortunes change following his marriage to the daughter of his employer, a banker. The printing house he builds up brings him wealth. Sadly his young wife dies, but not before giving birth to a son, Robert. By a great stroke of luck, when playing a card game against a tricky Earl, William wins the Brackenholm Estate from which, as a mere ploughboy, he had escaped. His fortune would revive the waning economies of the estate. When William dies, Robert sells his shares in the printing works and becomes a Member of Parliament. Robert's elder son, also named William, inherits the estate, while his younger son Robert decides on a career as a surgeon, marries a servant and is disinherited. In the first volume of the trilogy, The Ploughboy, William Neal, ran away from his wretched life lifting stones from fields along the Scottish Borders. Reaching London with no assets, William became just another hungry urchin among many, until honesty and a happy coincidence gained him the role of assistant coachman on a privately owned carriage. The banker owner recognised William's potential and decided to offer the youngster a job as a teller.