Lady Bidsborough, formerly Jean Jardine of Priorsford, is now the mistress of Mintern Abbas, a grand home in England. She is also the mother of three children. When her husband Biddy feels a moral obligation to accompany a friend, who saved his life during the Great War, on a long trip, Jean decides to spend the winter in her beloved Priorsford. With a menagerie of children, pets, maids and a secretary, she returns to The Rigs, where she once lived in poverty, about 10 years ago, taking care of her three younger brothers.

Anna Buchan (1877-1948) was a Scottish novelist who wrote under the pen name O. Douglas. She was the younger sister of John Buchan, the renowned statesman and author. Most of her novels were written and set between the wars and portrayed small town or village life in southern Scotland, reflecting her own life.