A family in trade moving up in the world. A family of landed gentry stepping aside for them. And the sons and daughters caught in the middle.
Julia Fletcher is the unimportant daughter of the Fletcher family, with neither beauty nor wit nor accomplishments, but always in a scrape. Somehow she never manages to get through the day without breaking or spilling or tearing something. She’s quite the despair of her stepmother. She’s looking forward to their grand new home because it will give her a vast estate to roam over without getting into too much trouble. Or so she hopes.
James Plummer is the younger son of an impoverished baronet, forced to sell the imposing family home to the upstart newcomers. James doesn’t mind that; he’s the local clergyman so he’s snug in his rectory, with a curate to do the dreary business of the parish and leave him free to wander about with a gun or a fishing rod. It’s all pretty boring, though; his family, his neighbours, his dull daily round… nothing very exciting happens. Maybe the Fletcher family will liven things up a bit? And outspoken hoyden Julia Fletcher seems just the one to shake things up… maybe a little too much for everyone’s peace of mind.