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.