The impoverished clergyman Josiah Crawley of Hogglestock is accused of stealing a twenty-pound cheque whose origin he cannot clearly explain, and his inability to remember how it came into his possession causes him intense moral and psychological distress. His daughter Grace remains loyal to him but must endure the disgrace surrounding her family, while Major Henry Grantly’s love for her meets fierce resistance from his father, Archdeacon Grantly, because of the Crawleys’ poverty and scandal. Bishop Proudie, and especially Mrs Proudie, move to remove Crawley from clerical duty even before his case has been decided, while Crawley stubbornly defends his honour and conscience. As the mystery of the cheque spreads through Barsetshire, Grace and Henry’s relationship becomes entangled with questions of class, reputation, faith, and justice.
