Falsely accused of theft by the friend who stole his fiancé, linen-weaver Silas Marner is driven from his religious community. Taking refuge in the distant village of Raveloe, he becomes a recluse, shunning human contact and instead amassing a huge pile of gold which he lovingly counts every night. Enter Dunstan Cass, the dissolute younger son of the local squire. Deep in debt, he steals the gold and disappears. Once more Silas is left bereft. Then one night he comes home to a warm and vital replacement for his lost gold - a baby girl asleep on the hearth. Silas adopts her, christens her Eppie after his mother, and rears the girl with enormous tenderness and love. But even this newfound happiness comes under threat. Eppie's real father, Godfrey Cass, wants to reclaim her. Is Silas to lose everything again?

Silas Marner was filmed on location in one of the most beautiful parts of England, the Cotswolds.