When Anna turns 18, she inherits a large sum of money (and property) from her dead mother. Her miserly and cruel father discourages her from spending a penny of it and even forces her to extract high rents from her tenants. As if this weren't enough trouble, she falls in love with Harry Mynors who is only interested in her money. When she realizes this, she has become so used to this kind of treatment that she decides to marry him anyway. Naturalistic and depressing, Bennett portrays his main characters well. Poor Anna--you really feel for her by the end of the book.