Alison was Mirabel Rainwood's granddaughter and, said Great-Uncle Arthur, very like Mirabel when she had been young. Because he considered Alison "one of the spunkiest of the clan" and saw that she was having a bad patch, Arthur impulsively bequeathed her his collection of books, a couple of hundred pounds and the use of his Sussex cottage at a peppercorn rent. He urged her to start a lending library of her own, which was a pleasant prospect, and not let up on his long-standing fued with the big house, Larchmere. This last request presented a problem, for Alison soon found that simply having nothing to do with her nearest neighbours wouldn't work. Moreover, Mark Ridgmont - a foxy character, according to her great-uncle - seemed prepared to call a truce.