English writer Anna Jameson arrives in the tiny settlement of Toronto in November 1836. She has come at the request of her estranged husband Robert. He is a closet homosexual who needs to fake a normal marriage in order to gain a prestigious appointment. In those days, sodomy as it was called was punishable by death. Anna has her own reasons for helping Robert. Her travels will give her material for a new book, which will eventually be published in England years later. As well, she hopes for a monetary settlement from Robert to help support her parents and sisters in England. At first, Anna finds herself in an alien world. She also meets man-about-town Sam Jarvis. As bleak winter changes into the glorious spring of 1837, Anna summons strength to cast off her unsatisfactory husband. At Manitoulin Island, she and Sam Jarvis meet again, wrestle with the conflicts in their relationship, and arrive at a settlement.