In which the noble estate of Becket, once the seat of the ancient Moreton family and now the prosperous domain of Stanley Freeland, stands as a polished emblem of wealth and modern industry amid rural Worcestershire. Here Frances Fleeming Freeland, reflective and kindly, awaits her kin with gentle concern as chance and circumstance bring a humble old visitor upon the grounds, intertwining the everyday with the history and quiet gravitas of the place.