Mr. Dombey (played by Julian Glover) is a proud and successful merchant, but he is desperate for an heir to carry on the family business. He is delighted when his son and successor, Paul, is finally born, but sadly, the child's mother dies during childbirth. Dombey's daughter, Florence, adores her brother but suffers as a result of her father's neglect. Tragically, Paul is a sickly child who passes away at a young age. Embittered by his son's untimely death, Dombey takes a new wife, the beautiful Edith Granger, who eventually tires of her husband's ways and leaves him. Alone, without his fortune, son or wife, Dombey must put his trust in those he abandoned.