"The Proper Place" — Lady Jane Rutherfurd, her daughter Nicole, and her niece Barbara are forced to sell their beautiful estate, and they opt to settle in a small village on the coast of Scotland. Lady Jane became depressed after losing her husband and two sons in the Great War, and Barbara can't get used to the new place and new style of life, craving for the splendor of their previous home. Nicole, however, tends to always see the sunny side of life and begins the new life with great passion. She enjoys making friends of all sorts of people and befriends all their new neighbors, including an interesting young boy. "The Day of Small Things" — Barbara, who never reconciled with the new Harbour House in Kirkmeikle, marries and returns to the old family estate of Rutherfurd. Nicole and Lady Jane have become more than get used to with their new life, until their peaceful world is shaken by a disruptive influence in the form of Althea Gort, Lady Jane's sister-in-law's niece. Her aunt wishes her, upon the Rutherfurds hoping they will provide a settling influence, and also to remove Althea from an undesirable lover. While Lady Jane is welcoming, both Nicole and Althea hate the thought of sharing a home — their upbringings and personalities are diametrically opposed and they resent each other. "Jane's Parlour" — The story follows the life in the small Scottish town, revealing the final pieces of the tale of Nicole and Lady Jane Rutherfurd, and their niece Barbara with her husband Andrew Jackson
