Scottish Clydeside at the turn of the century, the golden age of the paddle-steamers. Rose Gibb, returning to Sandyford following her short-lived career as a volunteer nurse during the Boer War, has a choice to make. Does she face the future as part of the old order, by joining Blair Crawford, the local laird, or does she commit herself to her natural ally and business partner, Magnus MacBride, who holds grand ambitions to exploit the Clyde's booming passenger trade?