Under the influence of rum furmity, Michael Henchard, a hay-trusser by trade, sells his wife Susan and their child Elizabeth-Jane to Newson, a sailor, for five guineas. Years later, Susan, now a widow, arrives in Casterbridge, with Elizabeth-Jane, to seek her legal husband. To their surprise, Henchard is now the Mayor of Casterbridge. The plot develops, and Fate contives for him to be punished for the recklessness of his younger days._______________