The story opens in the “barton”, or milking yard, of a large dairy farm in the water meadows between Dorchester and Wareham in south Dorset, at some time around the year 1820. The milkmaids are hard at work and talking among themselves about the young wife that Farmer Lodge is about to bring home. One topic of conversation is how Rhoda Brook, one of their number who is milking on the other side of the barton, must feel about it.