On her 20th birthday, Mary Hepburn - daughter of the local magistrate - learns that she is to marry John Aitken, a much older man.

Unhappy with this, Mary walks to the local moor to clear her mind. Instead, she meets and falls in love with the handsome Captain Ferintosh, when he saves her from whiskey smugglers. The situation gets even more complicated when Mary's father arrests Ferintosh.

Soon, devious plans and mysteries begin to surface. But who is worthy of her love, and what secrets are the men around him hiding?