Believed dead Ropss Poldark returns from the American Revolutionary War to Nampara,his house in Cornwall,now dilapidated and in the care of drunken married retainers Jud and Prudie Paynter. Ross's father has died,leaving many debts and the family copper mine, Wheal Leisure,is to be sold by Ross's uncle Charles to the wealthy Warleggan family to raise funds. However Ross and his cousin Francis discover a rich seam of copper there and Ross secures a bank loan to hold on to the mine. He is less successful in holding on to Elizabeth,the woman to whom he was engaged before going to war, but now,for financial reasons,marries Francis.
—don @ minifie-1