Outgrowing - but still hopelessly devoted to - her family, Maggie Tulliver befriends the disfigured Phillip Wakem, son of a local lawyer. But their fathers soon become embroiled in a bitter legal dispute that only the prosperous Wakem can win and the Tullivers find fate dealing them the first harsh hand of many. With their father dead, and their precious mill gone, the family must face up to their cold future together.