The main character of the book is Hugh Sutherland, who is introduced as a congenial young man who wants no more than to find his path in life. After his father died he is forced by financial constraints to find a job in order to complete his education. This employment is, of course, as a tutor on a small Scottish estate where he encounters the estate foreman or steward, David Elginbrod and his daughter, Margaret. Sutherland finds the Elginbrod family, although Christian in word and deed, to his liking when compared with the severe and mean manner of his employer. As a result, he finds himself at the Elginbrod cottage whenever time will permit, and begins teaching both father and daughter. Although Hugh believes himself to be the educator, he will learn as he matures and discovers the various trials and grieves that lie in his path that it was David, not he, who was, in fact, the real tutor. MacDonald has excelled in the characters of David and Margaret Elginbrod, while providing a practical application of their teachings in the lives of Hugh Sutherland and those with whom he communicates. Not only an exceptional spiritual work, David Elginbrod weaves a tale of ghosts, mysticism, the supernatural, and love in such a manner as to be both educational, spiritually-uplifting, and spellbinding.