For Abigail Chiswell, the Colne riverfront in Colchester, Essex is a second home. With its own sights and sounds -- of crowded quaysides, fishing smacks and packed oyster barrels -- it means more to her than all the lofty rooms and comforts of her father's home. When she falls for local fisherman Matthew Bateman, Abigail's family loyalty is stretched to breaking point. While Hilltop House represents the pinnacle of her father's wealth and success, for Abigail its very luxury keeps her from the life - and the man -- she loves.