Wealthy Elias Graves builds his home on the top of a hill; 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' 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 illegitimate child.
A plucky little orphan girl gets dumped abruptly into her gruff, hermit grandfather's care, then later gets retaken and delivered as a companion for an injured girl.
