John Bell is a man with a burning ambition, which he single-mindedly pursues with no thought for the effect his actions have on his family. A lawyer by profession, he founds the Glasgow Pottery with his brother Matthew, to help fund his acquisition of what he hopes will be an unrivalled art collection. He hopes it will become his legacy to the city of his birth, and secure his name in history.

While nineteenth century Glasgow rapidly changes around him, he lives in the past but with his eyes fixed on the future, and neglects his present with tragic consequences. Told from the viewpoint of different members of the family, it is a story of how one man's obsession dominates and controls the lives of those around him, and of the ultimate folly of the personal vanity of one man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.