A compassionate portrait of the gentle, thoughtful warden and percent of Barchester Cathedral, Mr. Septimus Harding. Loved and appreciated by all with whom he works, Harding lives an ordered, regular life in his protected religious environment. Then a young reformer feels he has uncovered a mismanagement of funds and Harding is held to blame. The accusation comes as a shock to Harding himself and the cathedral community. It then comes to wider notice when the cause is taken up by a national newspaper.