Mrs. Lehr, a young widow who grew up in Cuttleback, decided, after her husband's death in the west, to return, with her children, Katherine and Jane, to Cuttleback, and make her home on the old family estate, which, during her absence, had been looked after by Job Jenkins, caretaker, in the Lehr family's employ since boyhood. Job had been the sole occupant of the estate for so many years that he regarded it as part and parcel of his life, and he was disturbed when he learned that his mistress was coming back with her two children. Daniel Whitcomb, Cuttleback's leading attorney, read with interest the notice in Cuttleback's newspaper about Mrs. Lehr's intended return, and pondered the romance that had connected his and her life before she left for the west. He wondered if her return would awaken the old-time affection he felt she once entertained for him.