This costume drama tells the lives of several generations of families linked to the Flemish estate that gave its name to its aristocratic but progressively impoverished owners, whose heiress Maria gave hers to the series. After a happy childhood in luxury she's sent away by her stern, fatally proud father to a prestigious but inhumane boarding school, returning so full of hate she'll debase herself to spite her dad and thus in her turn spreading unhappiness among the tenants and other employees, including the estate staff including a chronicler (who does some off-screen telling) and her passionate lover Ruige, the miller's son who becomes game-keeper.