An engagement of convenience could matter little to either party in the circumstances, but it would seem that timid Anna Crewe was the last person to be involved with the headstrong Peverils: Gran, who had always ruled the family; Ruth, antagonistic for reasons of her own; Rick, still in love with his beautiful cousin who, like all the Peverils, took what she wanted and did not count the cost. A summer at Trevallion brought many changes to all of them, but for Anna it was a summer that changed her whole life.