Emma, the daughter of the Merefirth watchmaker, had a happy childhood with her friend Thomas in her beloved Hampshire. As her twenty-first birthday approaches, it is time for her to consider making a happy and relevant marriage. And here comes the perfect suitor in the person of Lord Henry Cottonwood. Then begins a court under the best auspices, to the great joy of her parents. But the return of Thomas, after a long absence, disrupts this idyllic romance. Emma, in growing confusion, will she be able to make the right choices?