Beatrice Steel, eldest daughter of the formidable Simon Steel, has always been possessive abut her family home, Pine Hurst. She becomes intolerably domineering after her mother's death, ruling over her sisters and the servants. It is her youngest sister, Rosie, who most resents Beatrice's tyranny and the austerity of their father, whose private life is as gloomy as his demeanor. Her father owns the house, and Beatrice fears that he might someday remarry, and another woman would supplant her as mistress of Pine Hurst. Beatrice's sisters are distressed that no man has shown interest in marrying the indomitable Beatrice, thus distracting her form her unwholesome obsession. Then, unexpectedly, her father dies, and when the family meets for the reading of the will, nothing Beatrice hears matches her expectations. Revelations of indecent family history dismay the Steel daughters. Beatrice realizes that her security is threatened and that she must begin to plot to protect her position and her most precious possession.
