The novel opens in Derbyshire, in the middle of England. The Brangwen family is slowly making the transition from agriculture to city life. Tom and Lydia live at Marsh Farm, an isolated agricultural home with little connection to the outside world. Anna and Will move to a cottage. While they still live in the countryside, they are removed from the physical work on a farm. Their daughter, Ursula, goes beyond this by getting an education in the town and remaining there to work.