Knowing his father's profoundest wish, that his son should succeed him as Rector of Stillwater, Stephen Desmonde tried to be worthy. But the siren call of art was too overwhelming; he felt driven as though by demons to pursue his vision of the world's beauty. He must put on canvas the truth as he saw it, whatever the cost might be, whether it was the blank misunderstanding of his family or the ridicule of the public. Few artists could have survived the scandal and mockery he had to endure in the sensational trial that stirred all England.
