A life-affirming family drama set mainly in New Zealand in the stormy political and social period of the 1890s and early 1900s. Toby Page, a brilliant horseman, and his mother Minnie, an artist and prominent suffragist, interact with two farming families of the Rangitikei, the McAlistairs and the 'rural aristocrats', the Drakes. Toby has been raised by his mother and his nan; he never knew his father. He aspires to training racehorses. Minnie has enemies through her campaigning for the female franchise. The enmity comes to a head one afternoon in Christchurch. Amid the battered egos of others and craze for power, the resilience of Minnie and Toby is tested to the limit. Toby battles a vile accusation against him.

On his return from fighting with the New Zealand troops in South Africa, there is a tragedy in the McAlistair family and an ill-fated marriage. Minnie continues to agitate for social reform while Toby strives to forge a new life for himself and achieve fulfilment.