Christian Osborne returns home after ten years' absence to his family's country estate near the village of Inverurquhuart, where his sister, her husband and their two children are living. On his way he meets an old acquaintance, Robbie McIntosh, and is introduced to two young women at the house, Ailie and Mercy, who are all devout Christians. Christian's acquaintance with Mercy develops and he asks her to marry him; however, she refuses calling him a fineant. Taking that to heart, he heads to the Crimea as a correspondent. In the Crimea he meets Captain George Desmond who is also a preacher in the British Army and after much time spent together, Christian further wrestles with his religious faith and his lack of commitment to it. Mercy's and George Desmond's words, in combination with the horrors of war, make him question his lack of commitment to religious conviction. During this time, Ailie's relationship with Robbie strengthens, though she is heartbroken when he is feared drowned at sea. She descends into ill health and only recovers when Robbie miraculously returns, having been rescued by a Dutch vessel. Her father still disapproves of the relationship, but after Robbie saves his life and proves his business acumen to him, he begins to change his opinion of the sailor. He becomes captain of a merchant ship and marries Allie. They eventually have a child who survives infancy and Allie turns her energies to writing poetry. Christian is injured in the Crimean war and spends a considerable time ill before he returns home. Mercy has re-evaluated her opinion of him and they are married and move to his estate where they start a family and continue to work to bring change to the poor.
