A Falling Star

After years of shameful exile in Holland, Sir Alexander St Barbe is back in Somerset to claim Wintercombe as his inheritance.

Bitter quarrels break out on the night of his arrival -- and soon the old fires of family passions and religious contention are raging. Even Alex's aunt Silence Hellier, herself once mistress of Wintercombe, cannot smooth over the ensuing rifts.

And she is one of the first to see trouble in the instant frisson between the libertine Alex and his young and fiery half-French cousin Louise ...

Outside forces play an increasingly turbulent part in all their lives as the Duke of Monmouth returns to England to claim the crown and raise rebellion -- bringing disaster and tragedy to Somerset, and the St. Barbe family.