After the death of her mother, Mollie Barnes is sent to live in her aunt and uncle's house and forced to endure her aunt's simmering resentment. One day, the tension explodes, leading to a shocking revelation about Mollie's parentage.

Every day, Mollie had been working by the shore, under the shadow of a large and imposing house. Now she knows that the master of the house, James Grainger, is her real father, she vows that one day she will sit at his table. But her dreams of finding acceptance are shattered as she finds herself the unwilling object of her half-brother's affections . . .