In which Roger Carbury returns to Suffolk burdened by the complexities of love and honour, torn between his loyalty to his cousin Paul Montague and his own unrequited affection for Hetta, while contending with the harsh judgments of those around him and his uneasy conscience. Amidst the quiet labours of farm and neighbourly duties, he faces the delicate task of truth and falsehood, duty and desire, as he composes a letter that may set matters aright, though not without the bitterness of unresolved grievance.