Lynette Mildare, an orphan, was thrown into the hands of an unscrupulous tavernkeeper. It was at the age of six that she became a nameless kitchen maid. Despite the humble surroundings she grew up into beautiful womanhood, and was compelled to flee to escape the sordid life of her master. She wandered about the veldt for hours, until hungry and exhausted, she sank into a slumber. A group of nuns discovered her lying prostrate on the field and took her to their convent, where she was educated and mothered by the only friends she had ever known since her parents' death. War came and the frontier town was garrisoned by British troops. Lynette had reached the stage of womanhood, when she met Lord Beauvayse, who came to order the evacuation of the convent. He wooed and won her, obtaining the sanction of the nuns. In that town there lived a ruin of a man named Dr. Owen Saxham. His reputation as a drunkard earned for him the title of "The Dop Doctor.