The seat of the Trelawney family for over 800 years, Trelawney Castle was once the jewel of the Cornish coast. But recent generations have been better at spending than making money. Now living in isolated penury, unable to communicate with each other or the rest of the world, the family are running out of options. Three unexpected events will hasten their demise: the sudden appearance of a new relation, an illegitimate, headstrong, beautiful girl, an unscrupulous American hedge fund manager determined to exact revenge, and the crash of 2008.