Mysterious widow Helen Graham, who moves to Wildfell Hall with her son, shocking locals with her reclusiveness and independence, but her diary reveals she's fleeing an abusive marriage to the alcoholic, debauched Arthur Huntingdon, forcing her to escape to protect her son from his father's corruption, ultimately leading to her eventual, hard-won freedom and a future with the steadfast farmer Gilbert Markham, who learns her story through her journal.
