John Caldigate has broken and mended more fences than seems possible -- with his father, with his relatives, and with his father's friend the banker. And with more luck than he has needed, he has won the love of several young women, even while keeping his heart set upon the young daughter of that banker. Moreover he has risked his fortune in Australia, making his way among the most disreputable of men, in order to dig a shaft into the earth in search of gold -- and against all odds he has managed not only to find the true metal, but to bring it back home to England.

Now happily married to the girl who animated his dreams even while tramping below the equator, and proving himself admirably fit to be heir to Folking, John Caldigate's life is abruptly shaken to the core. It is as if the winds of mischance are blowing the most awkward moments of his youth back into his face