The people of Stourbridge have long since grown accustomed to the ways of Christina Compson, the beautiful woman who has been so successful in her running of Henzels glassworks. But the mistakes of her past life come to overshadow the lives of Christina's family. The two eldest children, Emily and Paul, raised as brother and sister, have been drawn together by the stigma that illegitimacy could bring and, as adults, only Paul's love of glass can part them. Christina now recognizes in Paul's talent as an engraver the opportunity to fake Henzels to the forefront of the industry. But first he must visit his grandfathers glasshouse in France, to learn the latest techniques, despite fierce opposition from Emily, who knows that she faces the loss of the man she loves as more than a brother.