In 1772, Allen and Jemima Morland work to restore Morland Place while the ambitions of their seven children draw the family far beyond Yorkshire. Charles pursues an heiress to Maryland and becomes caught in the American struggle for independence. Henry, an illegitimate branch of the family, seeks pleasure and advancement in the fashionable salons of Paris.
The two journeys place the Morlands on opposite sides of an Atlantic world moving toward revolution. Colonial rebellion challenges British authority, while economic hardship and political anger begin to unsettle France. At home, Allen and Jemima depend upon their marriage to withstand the disappointments caused by their children. The family’s expansion brings opportunity, but it also exposes the estate to events no patriarch can control.
