During the Jacobite rising of 1715, Francis Osbaldistone, son of a rich London merchant, on refusing to adopt his father's profession, is banished to Osbaldistone Hall in the north of England home of his uncle His hard-drinking uncle has six boorish sons, including Rashleigh who is a malignant plotter and has had designs on his noble-minded cousin, Diana When Diana falls in love with Francis, Rashleigh sets out to destroy him