The novel is set on a Hebridean island, overlooked by a distant
lighthouse, where Mrs. and Mr. Ramsay with eight children and assorted
guests are enjoying the long summer. Mr. Ramsay is a tragic and
self-pitying philosopher whose mind is rational but rather cold. Mrs.
Ramsay is a beautiful, warm, creative and intuitive woman, the centre of
the household. The novel focuses on the conflict arising from young
James Ramsay's desire to visit the lighthouse and his father's quenching
of this hope. But the summer ends, war and death bring changes. The next
journey to the lighthouse is a very different one.