In Victorian England, Mr. Wakem (Felix Aylmer) is a solicitor who is after a mill on the Floss River, owned by Mr. Tulliver (Sam Livesey). Tensions mount as Tulliver rejects Wakem's offer to assume his water rights, and the families are drawn into a bitter feud. However, Tulliver's daughter, Maggie (Geraldine Fitzgerald), has fallen in love with Wakem's son, Philip (Frank Lawton), despite the bad blood between the patriarchs. Their love is not likely to last in such hostile conditions.