A young impoverished aristocrat falls in love with an inn-keeper's daughter, but has to marry money.
Wealthy Elias Graves builds his home on the top of a hill, where a group of squatters have taken up residence at the bottom. Many of the men in the squatters' village have their eyes on young Tess, and one of them, Ben Letts, frames Tess's father for murder. While maintaining her father's innocence, Tess must keep her love for Graves' son a secret, while caring for Elias' daughter's illegitamate child.
A seaman on board a sailing ship battles mutinous crew members, a corrupt millionaire trying to take over the ship and falls in love with a girl who turns out to be his adopted sister.
