Set in post-1918, rural Sussex, the story revolves around Mary Viner, a young lady with aspirations to leave her small town, as well as her relationship with a man living on a local acreage, known as the Doomsday Farm. The story also follows Arnold Furze of the Doomsday Farm, World War I veteran struggling with the farm life, thorn between two women of different sensibilities who have a significant impact on him.

Warwick Deeping 's work is dominated by historical novels, while his later novels more usually dealt with modern life, and were critical of many tendencies of twentieth-century civilization. Deeping's novels often deal with controversial issues such as social work and medicine in the slums, gender ambiguity, alcoholism, and women abuse.