Against the turbulent backdrop of the English Civil War, where political treachery and religious persecution are commonplace, an unlikely romance springs up between Catherine Trefelner, a strikingly beautiful village girl, and Robert Bradshaw, co-heir to one of Cornwall’s richest estates. Staunch Royalists, Robert and his twin brother Julian are loyal to the clever, but misguided King Charles, while Catherine’s father is a fanatical Puritan, living for the day the Parliamentarian Army unseats the King, and makes Royalist families conform or seek refuge in France.