Peter Cavendish, son of transported convicts, graduates as a physician while living at the mansion, Cavendish Court. His father died before he was born in tragic circumstances and his mother, Elizabeth, remarried to Doctor Joseph Cavendish a few years later, when they established the property beside the river where Peter and his siblings grew up. Over the passage of a number of following years Peter is twice required to travel overseas to find or rescue two of his brothers, both of whom have not written home in some time. In each case, tragedy and misfortune are rife. He is also involved in a love affair while overseas, with dire results. His life is constantly changing as he strives to maintain his medical career and his family connections, while the matriarch of the family, Elizabeth, lives out her life at Cavendish Court.