Jane Bates receives word that her maiden aunt has died, leaving the family's island home abandoned. Determined to provide for her three daughters, she regards the news as an answer to the previous winter's troubles. Believing that the girls' father would marry her, Jane learns instead of his intended marriage to another. Once on the island, Jane restores the farm, suffers the loss of her daughter, Sarah, to a drowning accident and weds John Brown, an English sailor. When John discovers Old Man Black and his granddaughter, Margaret, living in the abandoned Moulton house, Ira Gould, a local fisherman, argues for their removal in his favor. Jane's disapproval of the man, and her love for Margaret, set a course she must meet head-on. Did Margaret's innocence and inexperience lead her to trust Ira Gould? Will Jane's experience and judgment expose the truth? Could the hardships of island life match the courage she will need to face this final test?