When Elfrise Swanston meets Stephen Smith she is attracted to his handsome face gentle bearing & the sense of mystery which surrounds him. Although distressed to find that the mystery consists only in the humbleness of his origins she remains true to their youthful vows. But societal pressures & the advent of the superior Henry Knight eventually displace her affections. Knight however proves to be an uncompromising moralist who obsessed with fears about Elfrides sexual past destroys her happiness. Writing of the struggle between classes & sexes Hardy drew heavily on his own relationships & in the introduction Pamela Dalziel discovers fascinating parallels between Hardys life & his art.