Frances Mountford recreates the changing life of a farmer in the first half of the 20th century - horse-ploughing, haymaking, riding to hounds, the Shire horses that were indispensable for carrying out the work, visits from intinerant labourers, and the hardships and pleasures of rural life - and then describes how a life that they had envisaged going on for ever came abruptly to an end. Fifty years on, the pain and injustice of the war years is still keenly felt, and the book describes how the farmers tried to fight back.