South Riding

Sarah Burton returns to her childhood home after many years away to apply for the new vacant position of headmistress at the local school. Her personality wins over many people, but at least one of the school governors, Robert Carne, is against her appointment for reasons at first unclear. He is a landowner who recently lost the vote to become the new MP there, but Robert has his own troubles with a wife in a mental home and a daughter that has started to show signs of mental instability. He is just one of many people that Sarah Burton will encounter in the poverty stricken area of South Riding.