When Ruth’s father dies when she is still a child, it is not only the pain of this death that she has to contend with. When the full extent of his debts are revealed, Ruth finds herself in an orphanage, isolated and alone, with her boarding school and middle-class upbringing just distant memories.
However, her fortunes take a turn for the better when she accepts a position in the Langley household, whose service she is in when she discovers that she is not as poverty stricken as it was thought. With her new social standing, Ruth is eventually able to give in to her feelings for Edward Langley and the two plan to marry.
However, Ruth’s happiness is short-lived when Edward mysteriously disappears. Will Ruth ever manage to find true happiness again?