It is autumn, 1863, in rural Kent. Cecily Carpenter, at only fourteen, has been sent into service as the housemaid of the local rectory, and is distraught as she faces the loss of her long-held dream of becoming a teacher. Alfred Nicholson, though ten years older, also struggles to come to terms with the path set down for him by fate and family. He is a gentle, musical man, who has become the reluctant heir of a small building business. Only his love for Emma Fielding, the local schoolteacher, gives him hope that his life has meaning and purpose. Both Cecily and Alfred face an age-old problem as they set out into adult life. Should they fight for their dreams, or give them up in the face of difficult circumstances, their own inadequacies and the expectations of their families and society? At the heart of their story lies a tragedy, now buried beneath years of silence and shame. The 'small shadow' of the title is a young child, who stands in a stream building a dam on a hot summer's day. He is unaware that he holds in his hands, not just rocks and stones, but the power to destroy his brother, or save him.