The home of Mrs. Bryson and her two daughters is happy except for the poverty that prevents the girls from sending their sick mother away to the mountains. Both help to support the household, but it is Shirley who feels the responsibility of her mother's approaching death and her worry is evident...
Shakespeare's tragedy of two young people who fall desperately in love despite the ancient feud between their two families, and how the sins of the fathers bring disaster to their children.
