Tess is an innocent young girl until the day she goes to visit her rich relatives , the D Urbervilles, in hope that they might help her alleviate her own family s poverty. Her encounter with her manipulative cousin, Alec, leads her onto a path that is beset with suffering and betrayal. When she falls in love with another man, Angel Clare, Tess sees a potential escape from her past, but only if she can tell him her shameful secret