Miriam St Ledger, and orphan, is taken into the care of her bachelor uncle, Fitzpatrick, who has been in the West Indies. Her aunt takes over her care and spends twenty years schooling her to become an accomplished young lady. The aunt then dies. Miriam returns to the dark and dreary Tunacombe Castle in Cornwall, and lives alone there with two domestic servants (Joseph and Joanna) for two years while her uncle is away on business. He returns to Cornwall, bringing with him his new wife. It is quite amusing from here on: the new wife (London society aspirant) plus associated hangers-on persuade Fitz to stand for Parliament. Finally, Miriam is forced out of home since she doesn't want to marry their choice of suitor. By coincidence, she comes upon Seymour, who unravels the mystery of her past and parentage. Although they met by chance in a stagecoach, where he adopts her because she is distressed, it transpires that he is her natural father who never knew of her existence (he had been posted overseas shortly after marrying Miriam's mother, who died en route to India shortly after giving birth). Seymour is Fitz's sister-in-law's brother-in-law by his marriage to Miriam's mother, so via this connection all is revealed and fortunes reallocated. Fitz is left penurious, while Miriam inherits. Happily ever after.

Domestic servants, Joseph and Joanna, both have moderately marked West Country accents. Servants who appear infrequently have voiced fricatives. There are some narrative jibes at dialect (e.g. vol 1, p. 41). When the house party moves to stay at a Cornish village the farmer's wife has quite marked dialect ('ben't you?' vol 1, p. 123). In an exchange between carriage passengers there is some non-standard grammar, and some satire on language.