George has been born into a family situation that brings him great advantages - and daunting responsibilities. One day he will become Lord Earlswood, inheriting not just his father's title but also the manor house and estate in Essex. Before then he expects to take his place at the head of the family business. Though he is full of ideas for the company, he faces fierce opposition from his Uncle Cecil, whose hostility is as ferocious as it is inexplicable. Then there is the pressure on George to find a suitable lady of the manor and eventually provide an heir. Will he overcome his shyness with the opposite sex? And if he does, will he be able to make a wise choice between the many young women who have designs on him, for a variety of motives? And will he be able to balance romantic entanglements with proper, professional relationships with his female colleagues? This, the first volume in Graham Hutton's Gloworm trilogy, is both a biography of a young aristocrat's progress to maturity and the chronicle of a developing company in the turbulent economic and political environment of 1970s Britain. Strikes, collapsing governments and the threat of the IRA form a background to the very personal events that shape George's life. The upheavals of industry and commerce combine with romance and tragedy to provide a convincing portrait of a remarkable young man in extraordinary circumstances.